In Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary region within the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, sponges thrive among diverse biological and geological habitats between 16–200+ m deep (i.e., coral reefs and communities, algal nodules, and coralline algae reefs, mesophotic reefs, patch reefs, scarps, ridges, soft substrate, and rocky outcrops).

The Program, in partnership with NOAA Ocean Exploration, enabled a field research program in the Pacific Islands region between 2015–2017 that provided a first look at deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems in the marine monuments throughout the region, and in other areas of interest such as hydrothermal vents and seeps, isolated seamounts, and mid-water biological and chemical characterization. This report covers the deep-sea coral and sponge research.