Publications

The purpose of this cruise (project number NF-19-01) in particular was to collect multibeam sonar bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, remotely operated vehicle optical validation, and fishery acoustics within coastal waters of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Scientists collected high-resolution multibeam and fishery acoustic data in mid-water depths approximately 11 to 3066 meters, in order to continue characterizing seafloor habitats within all U.S. States, Territories, and Commonwealths.

This photo-identification collection is intended to provide a visual reference to commonly observed deep-sea corals in the Southeast United States, Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. Caribbean, as a consensus aid for taxonomic identification of these organisms. This document also aims to provide an effectual representation of the diversity of coral fauna encountered in the deep-sea of this greater U.S. Southeast region (defined here as > 200 m deep) by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, using remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer in years 2017-2019.

The objective of this photo identification guide is to provide documentation of Alcyonacean specimens collected and/or photographed from the Pinnacle Trend, using in-situ and ex-situ photography, with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Effective management of marine resources requires an understanding of the spatial distribution of biologically important communities. The north-western Gulf of Mexico contains diverse marine ecosystems at a large range of depths and geographic settings. To better understand the distribution of these marine habitats across large geographic areas under consideration for marine sanctuary status, presence-only predictive modelling was used.

In 2016, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement proposed the expansion of the current Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary boundaries to incorporate an additional 15 reefs and banks, including Elvers Bank. Antipatharians (black corals) were collected within the proposed expansion sites and analysed using morphological and molecular methods. A new species, Distichopathes hickersonae, collected at 172 m depth on Elvers Bank, is described within the family Aphanipathidae.

Species distribution modeling provides a cost-effective means of identifying potential deep-sea coral and sponge habitat over large areas to inform these management decisions and data collection. Here we describe good practices for deep-sea coral and sponge species distribution modeling, especially in the context of data collection and management applications. 

Massive, long-lived deep-sea red tree corals (Primnoa pacifica) are abundant on the outer continental shelf and upper slope of the Northeast Pacific, providing habitat for fish and invertebrates. Yet, their large size and arborescent morphology makes them susceptible to disturbance from fishing activities. A better understanding of their growth patterns will facilitate in-situ estimates of population age structure and biomass. Here, we evaluated relationships between ages, growth rates, gross morphological characteristics, and banding patterns in 11 colonies collected from depths of ~141–335 m off the Alaskan coast.

This study implemented a newly designed, autonomous, noninvasive plankton pump sampler that collected large mesozooplankton within 1 m of the seafloor. It was successfully deployed in the western Gulf of Alaska between the Shumagin Islands (~158°W) and Samalga Pass (−170°W), and collected in situ zooplankton from diverse benthic communities (coral, sponge and bare substrates) at depths in excess of 100 m.

This Science Plan presents the objectives, proposed work-plan, and anticipated outcomes for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration West Coast Deep-Sea Coral Initiative under the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program. The four-year Initiative (FY 2018-2021) is designed to work with partners to discover, map, characterize, explore, and conduct research on deepwater coral and sponge habitats in support of natural resource management off California, Oregon and Washington. The Science Plan was developed by a cross-NOAA steering committee with input from numerous partners and stakeholders.

Over a century of study in American Samoa has built a foundation of coral reef ecology within the region. However, this work has been restricted to shallow coral reefs (SCRs; <30 m) until recently, where a few studies have started describing American Samoa’s mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs). MCEs are defined as coral reef communities with zooxanthellate corals and associated biotic assemblages between 30 and 150 m depth. Mapping efforts within the territory have documented habitat characteristics for SCRs, as well as MCEs. We estimate that American Samoa has 451.5 km² of marine habitat between the shoreline and 150 m depth.