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The Marine Animal Forests of South Africa: Importance for Bioregionalization and Marine Spatial Planning

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Perspectives on the Marine Animal Forests of the World

Abstract

Marine animal forests, although among the most diverse ecosystems worldwide, remain obscure in terms of their diversity and functioning. Their spatial extent, diversity and function within the larger marine ecosystems remain poorly known; mainly due to a lack of traditional taxonomic expertise and the challenges associated with non-destructive sampling submarine habitats beyond the reach of SCUBA divers. In South Africa, information on marine benthic invertebrate biodiversity and taxonomy has been limited and fragmented, with more than 80% of samples collected shallower than 100 m. In the last decade, systematic surveys employing modern marine sampling equipment such as ROVs, jump cameras and towed cameras accelerated the discovery of marine animal forests within the South African Exclusive Economic Zone. Extensive marine animal forests have been found in both the Benguela and the Agulhas current systems, which dominate South African waters. The general distribution and diversity of benthic suspension feeders (e.g. sponges, scleractinian corals, octocorals, ascidians and bryozoans) is comparatively well established and has been used in marine spatial planning and the establishment of a network of offshore Marine Protected Areas. The proclamation of these Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along with the identification and mapping of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems and Ecologically and Biologically Sensitive Areas along with potential threats (e.g. trawling, invasive species, mining, climate change and petroleum and gas exploration) forms part of South Africa’s strategy to manage its waters and preserve these illusive marine ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Oceans and Coasts Research Directorate, Department of Environmental, Forestry and Fisheries, Cape Town, for the logistic support under their Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystems Programme. We thank the captains and crew of the many vessels that supported this research and acknowledge the pilots and technicians who enabled the acquisition of seabed imagery including the Jago submersible team. The following projects funded by the National Research Foundation through the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Program (ACEP) are acknowledged: ACEP Deep Secrets, ACEP Imida Frontiers, ACEP Spatial Solutions and ACEP Deep Forests. We also acknowledge with gratitude the following institutions and research organizations—SANBI, SAEON, Fisheries Research (DEFF) and Iziko Museums of South Africa —for their support. We also gratefully acknowledge the numerous colleagues, postdoctoral research fellows and postgraduate students, who contributed to South African marine biodiversity knowledge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oceans and Coasts Research, Marine Biodiversity, Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), Cape Town, South Africa

    T. Samaai & S. Kirkman

  2. Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Biodiversity and Conservation, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa

    T. Samaai

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    T. Samaai, L. Atkinson, S. Kerwath & D. Parker

  4. SANBI Marine Programme, South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), Cape Town, South Africa

    K. Sink

  5. Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

    K. Sink, S. Kirkman & L. Atkinson

  6. Egagasini Offshore Node, South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), Cape Town, South Africa

    L. Atkinson

  7. Research and Exhibitions Department, Iziko Museums of South Africa (Iziko Museums), Cape Town, South Africa

    W. Florence

  8. Fisheries Research, Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

    S. Kerwath, D. Parker & D. Yemane

  9. Department of Animal Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa

    S. Kerwath

Authors
  1. T. Samaai
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  2. K. Sink
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  3. S. Kirkman
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  4. L. Atkinson
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  5. W. Florence
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  6. S. Kerwath
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  7. D. Parker
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  8. D. Yemane
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. Samaai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche e Ambientali (DISTEBA), Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy

    Sergio Rossi

  2. Laboratoire d’Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques, LECOB, Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls sur Mer, CNRS-Sorbonne Université, Banyuls sur Mer, France

    Lorenzo Bramanti

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Samaai, T. et al. (2020). The Marine Animal Forests of South Africa: Importance for Bioregionalization and Marine Spatial Planning. In: Rossi, S., Bramanti, L. (eds) Perspectives on the Marine Animal Forests of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57054-5_2

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