coral

11
Apr
2019

New species of deep-sea corals discovered in Atlantic marine monument

Source: Phys.Org

DNA analysis recently confirmed that Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists and their collaborators at OceanX, the University of Connecticut (UConn), and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) discovered two new species of deep-sea corals during a September 2018 expedition in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, located about 100 miles from the Northeast U.S. coast.

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14
Dec
2018

Huge previously-undetected coral reef off US East Coast

Source: EarthSky
Author: Sandra Brooke

When people think of coral reefs, they typically picture warm, clear waters with brightly colored corals and fishes. But other corals live in deep, dark, cold waters, often far from shore in remote locations. These varieties are just as ecologically important as their shallow water counterparts. They also are just as vulnerable to human activitieslike fishing and energy production.

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10
Dec
2018

Exclusive photos show deep-sea canyon in U.S. waters teeming with life

Source: National Geographic
Author: Sarah Gibbens

It felt a lot like a moon landing to the researchers who experienced it—descending thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean into complete darkness. Ambient ocean light extends down only about 600 feet. After that, no amount of straining your eyes will help you see through the inky blackness.

Scientist Tim Shank and photographer Luis Lamar were descending into Lydonia canyon, one of several among the canyons and underwater mountains sitting 130 miles from Massachusetts, when they were slowly surrounded by darkness.

Continue reading Exclusive photos show deep-sea canyon in U.S. waters teeming with life

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3
Dec
2018

Deepwater corals thrive at the bottom of the ocean, but can’t escape human impacts

Source: The Conversation
Author: Sandra Brooke

When people think of coral reefs, they typically picture warm, clear waters with brightly colored corals and fishes. But other corals live in deep, dark, cold waters, often far from shore in remote locations. These varieties are just as ecologically important as their shallow water counterparts. They also are just as vulnerable to human activities like fishing and energy production.

Continue reading Deepwater corals thrive at the bottom of the ocean, but can’t escape human impacts

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7
Nov
2018

Are deep sea reefs really a lifeboat for our vanishing corals?

Source: Mongabay
Author: Emily Clark

When Luiz Rocha, a fish biologist at the California Academy of Sciences, goes scuba diving, he tacks on one and a half times his body weight in specialized diving gear. Once he submerges, he can’t spare a moment to take in the vibrant corals just beneath the surface — he has greater depths to plumb.

Rocha is headed toward what Smithsonian Institution fish biologist Carole Baldwin calls “a very diverse and productive portion of the tropical ocean that science has largely missed”: mesophotic reefs. “Mesophotic” is Greek for “middle light,” referring to the intermediate amount of sunlight that can penetrate to depths of 30 to 150 meters (100 to 500 feet) below the ocean’s surface.

Continue reading Are deep sea reefs really a lifeboat for our vanishing corals?

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17
Oct
2018

Macro- and microplastics affect cold-water corals growth, feeding and behaviour

Source: Nature
Author: L. Chapron, E. Peru, A. Engler, J. F. Ghiglione, A. L. Meistertzheim, A. M. Pruski, A. Purser, G. Vétion, P. E. Galand & F. Lartaud

Plastic contamination is now recognized as one of the most serious environmental issues for oceans. Both macro- and microplastic debris are accumulating in surface and deep waters. However, little is known about their impact on deep marine ecosystems and especially on the deep-sea reefs built by emblematic cold-water corals. The aim of this study was to investigate whether plastics affected the growth, feeding and behaviour of the main engineer species, Lophelia pertusa. Our experiments showed that both micro- and macroplastics significantly reduced skeletal growth rates. Macroplastics induced an increased polyp activity but decreased prey capture rates. They acted as physical barriers for food supply, likely affecting energy acquisition and allocation.

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22
Sep
2018

Scientists discovered 85 miles of deep-sea coral reef hidden off the US East Coast — here’s what it looks like

Source: Business Insider
Author: Jeremy Berke

The seafloor is one of the last unexplored regions of our watery planet.

On a recent expedition dubbed Deep Search 2018, a group of ocean researchers discovered 85 miles of deep-sea coral reef off the coast of the southeastern US.

“Good news is too rare these days, and this is a victory that we can all share. We have found a pristine coral reef in our own backyard,” Erik Cordes, the chief scientist on the expedition and a deep-sea ecologist at Temple University, wrote in a mission summary.

Continue reading Scientists discovered 85 miles of deep-sea coral reef hidden off the US East Coast — here’s what it looks like

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10
Sep
2018

Closing the High Seas to Fishing Probably Won’t Hurt Global Food Security

Source: Hakai Magazine
Author: Marcus Woo

Recent research suggests fisheries closures would have minimal effect on global food security, but some scientists think the case isn’t so clear cut.

Far offshore are the high seas—waters beyond any country’s jurisdiction and the focus of a contentious debate. The high seas, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean’s surface, have recently seen an increase in fishing and other activities, such as deep-sea mining. To protect the biodiversity of this vast environment, delegates attending a meeting currently underway in New York are negotiating for a new international treaty, an addition to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Continue reading Closing the High Seas to Fishing Probably Won’t Hurt Global Food Security

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