Deep-Sea Coral Collection Protocols - NOAA's Coral Reef ...

Ahermatypic scleractinians of the western Atlanticby John K. ReedWestern Atlantic Deep-Water Coral ReefsThe dominant corals forming deep-water reefs in the western Atlantic region off southeastern US and Gulf ofMexico are Oculina varicosa, Lophelia pertusa, and Enallopsammia profunda (Reed 2002 a,b,Schroeder et al. 2005). Other branching colonial scleractinia also occur, including Solenosmilia variabilis,Madrepora oculata, and Madracis myriaster, as well as numerous solitary coral species (Cairns, 1979).The deep-water Oculina bioherms form an extensive reef system at depths of 70-100 m along the shelf edgeand are only known off central eastern Florida. These reefs are comprised of numerous pinnacles and ridges,3 to 35 m in height. In comparison, deep-water reefs of Lophelia pertusa and Enallopsammia profundacorals often occur together at depths of 500-850 m from Florida to North Carolina and the Gulf of Mexico.These form reef structures from 10 to 150 m in height. Deep-water Lophelia reefs also occur worldwideand extensively off Norway and Scotland. The structure of both the Oculina and Lophelia reefs are oftensimilar. Each pinnacle may consist of a bank of unconsolidated sediment and coral debris that is capped onthe slopes and crest with living and dead colonies of coral.14.Fig. 12. Colony and branch tip for : top - Oculina varicosa (80m); middle - Lophelia pertusa (490 m); bottom - Enallopsammiaprofunda (585 m). Scale lines = 1 cm; top left fig. scale = 5 cm. From Reed, J. K. 2002.Fig. 13. Morphological features of coral corallite. From Cairns, S. 1981.Fig. 14. Septa patterns of a coral calice. From Cairns, S. 1981.1112.13.