Environmental drivers and distribution of cold-water corals in the global ocean - Habitat Suitability Models

<strong>Publication Abstract</strong> Species distribution models (SDMs) are useful tools for identifying the distribution of marine species in data limited environments. Outputs from SDMs have been used to identify areas for spatial management, analyzing trawl closures, quantitatively measuring the risk of bottom trawling, and evaluating protected areas for improving conservation management. Cold-water corals are globally distributed habitat forming organisms that are vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts and climate change, but data deficiency remains an ongoing issue for the effective spatial management of these important ecosystem engineers. In this study, we constructed 11 environmental seabed variables at 500m resolution based on the latest multi-depth global datasets and high-resolution bathymetry. Ensemble modeling methods were used to predict the global habitat suitability for ten widespread cold-water coral species, including six reef Scleractinian framework-forming species and four large gorgonian species. Temperature, depth, salinity, terrain ruggedness index, carbonate saturation state and chlorophyll were the most important factors in determining the global distributions of these species. The Scleractinian species <em>Madrepora oculata</em> showed the widest niche breadth, whilst most other species demonstrated somewhat limited niche breadth. The shallowest study species, <em>Oculina varicosa</em>, had the most distinctive niche of the group. The model outputs from this study represent the highest resolution global predictions for these species to date and are valuable in aiding the management, conservation and continued research into cold-water coral species. <strong>Data description</strong> These datasets (compressed Zip archives) contain the habitat suitability model outputs generated for the publication Tong et al., (2023) doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1217851, please refer to the manuscript for methodological details. These files are provided in an ArcGIS compatible TIFF format that is readable by various GIS packages and can be imported to R. AA.zip = <em>Acanella arbuscula</em><br> DP.zip = <em>Desmophyllum pertusum</em> (former and now unaccepted synonym <em>Lophelia pertusa</em>)<br> ER.zip = <em>Enallopsammia rostrata</em><br> GD.zip = <em>Goniocorella dumosa</em><br> MO.zip = <em>Madrepora oculata</em><br> OV.zip = <em>Oculina varicosa</em><br> PA.zip = <em>Paragorgia arborea</em><br> PP.zip = <em>Paramuricea placomus</em><br> PR.zip = <em>Primnoa resedaeformis</em><br> SV.zip = <em>Solenosmilia variabilis</em>**论文摘要** 物种分布模型（Species Distribution Models，SDMs）是在数据匮乏环境中识别海洋物种分布的实用工具。该模型的输出已被用于划定空间管理区域、分析拖网禁渔方案、定量评估底拖网作业风险，以及为优化保护管理开展保护区评估工作。冷水珊瑚是全球分布的造栖生物，易受人类活动影响与气候变化威胁，但数据匮乏仍是制约这类重要生态系统工程师开展有效空间管理的长期瓶颈。本研究基于最新多深度全球数据集与高分辨率水深地形数据，构建了分辨率为500米的11项海底环境变量集。本研究采用集成建模方法，对10种广泛分布的冷水珊瑚物种开展全球生境适宜性预测，其中包含6种造礁石珊瑚框架物种与4种大型柳珊瑚物种。水温、水深、盐度、地形粗糙指数、碳酸盐饱和状态与叶绿素浓度是决定该类物种全球分布的关键影响因子。石珊瑚物种<em>Madrepora oculata</em>的生态位宽度最广，而其余多数物种的生态位宽度相对有限。本次研究中栖息水层最浅的物种<em>Oculina varicosa</em>拥有该类群中最独特的生态位。本研究的模型输出为目前公开的上述物种最高分辨率全球适生区预测结果，可为冷水珊瑚物种的管理、保护与后续研究提供重要支撑。 **数据集说明** 本数据集为压缩Zip归档文件，包含为本论文（Tong等人，2023年，DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1217851）生成的生境适宜性模型输出结果，研究方法细节请参见原论文手稿。所有文件采用与ArcGIS兼容的TIFF格式，可通过多种GIS软件读取，亦支持导入R语言开展后续分析。 AA.zip = <em>Acanella arbuscula</em> DP.zip = <em>Desmophyllum pertusum</em>（曾用名<em>Lophelia pertusa</em>，现为无效异名） ER.zip = <em>Enallopsammia rostrata</em> GD.zip = <em>Goniocorella dumosa</em> MO.zip = <em>Madrepora oculata</em> OV.zip = <em>Oculina varicosa</em> PA.zip = <em>Paragorgia arborea</em> PP.zip = <em>Paramuricea placomus</em> PR.zip = <em>Primnoa resedaeformis</em> SV.zip = <em>Solenosmilia variabilis</em>