Coral reef conservation management depends on long-term monitoring efforts for a sound understanding of ecosystem structuring, functioning, and dynamics. However, ongoing monitoring programs are almost exclusively focused on shallow depths, and it remains unclear to what extent those represent the whole ecosystem. Here, we present a temporal comparison (2012–2017) of directly adjacent shallow and mesophotic benthic communities across seven sites from the Great Barrier Reef and the Western Coral Sea. We found a positive relationship initially between shallow and mesophotic coral cover, with higher cover at shallow depths. However, this relationship was no longer significant after multiple disturbances, with coral cover significantly declining only at shallow depths. Point-based tracking revealed the dynamic nature of mesophotic communities, with their consistent coral cover reflecting a net balance between substantial growth and mortality. Overall, the divergent trajectories highlight the urgency to expand coral reef monitoring efforts into mesophotic depths to ensure their unique characteristics can be accounted for in conservation management strategies.

中文翻译：

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隐藏在深处：不同的底栖轨迹需要监测中光礁

珊瑚礁保护管理依赖于长期监测工作，以便对生态系统结构、功能和动态有充分的了解。然而，正在进行的监测计划几乎完全集中在浅层，目前尚不清楚这些项目在多大程度上代表了整个生态系统。在这里，我们对来自大堡礁和西珊瑚海的七个地点的直接相邻的浅层和中光底栖生物群落进行了时间比较（2012-2017 年）。我们最初发现浅层和中光珊瑚覆盖率之间存在正相关关系，浅层覆盖率较高。然而，这种关系在多次干扰后不再显着，珊瑚覆盖仅在浅层显着下降。基于点的跟踪揭示了中光社区的动态性质，其一致的珊瑚覆盖反映了大幅增长和死亡率之间的净平衡。总体而言，不同的轨迹凸显了将珊瑚礁监测工作扩展到中光深度的紧迫性，以确保在保护管理战略中能够考虑到它们的独特特征。