Lead: Tim Battista

This project reviewed previously collected ROV data at depths between 50-300 m in the U.S. Caribbean. Deep-sea coral and sponge records from the video data were retrieved and formatted for submission to the National Database of Deep-Sea Coral and Sponges.

Standardized identification, classification, and accuracy assessment methods will be employed, and all data will be collated in DSCRTP format and submitted for ingestion into the National Database (Hourigan et al. 2015). Given the large volume of imagery to be processed and the goals of the DSCRTP program, efforts related to this proposed funding will be focused on 1) the deepest records, 2) azooxanthellate corals, and 3) particularly on gorgonians, stylasterids, and black corals for which data are scarce in the U.S. Caribbean Region.