Marine Institute
SeaRover Dive Video

D478 Transect 32 Xenophyophores, small rubble mounds with orange anemones, small patch of pebbles/cobbles and barnacles, lots of fish. Features of Interest: canyon, escarpments Water Depth: 862-687 m

Highlights: Neolithodes grimaldi Plastic bag Fishing gear Plastic Chimaera Neolithodes grimaldi with barnacles Xenophyophores & fish Xenophyophores

Predominantly soft sediment is recorded at this site. At both the beginning and end of the transect xenophyophores are very common with the mid-section dominated by galatheidae burrows; echinoid species are observed at the start of the transect only.

Towards the top of a steep incline bamboo corals including Acanella sp. are common, along with a variety of sea pen species. Grenadiers, usually round-nosed, and northern cutthroat eel are present throughout; a few orange roughy are present at the base of the incline. Sharks, chimerids and a few rays including a great lantern shark and the brentnose rabbitfish are present. Areas of hard ground are minimal here. Significant littering (30 sightings) is apparent and includes plastic, fishing lines and netting. Pilot whales and gannets were observed from the vessel.

START VIDEO A [00:00:00]/12:02 [1]: on a soft sediment downslope (mud) transitioning to flat bottom, with xenophyophores and cerianthid anemones. These are often jointly dominant, although sometimes one or the other dominates (recorded throughout as both mosaicked). 15 threatened Orange Roughy are encountered in the first hour of the dive in groups of 1-5 individuals. END VIDEO A 13:58.

START VIDEO B [01:56:00]/13:59 still in the first habitat mosaic. [01:56:00] [2]: an area of mixed sediment is encountered, interpreted as carbonate rubble in small pits and mounts with mud veneer (see top R example image). These areas are dominated by an orange anemone (OTU605) and continued xenophyophores. [02:02:00] [3]: return to xenophyophore/cerianthid mosaic. [02:08:00] [4]: mixed carbonate rubble (?) and occasional cobbles sparsely distributed on mud host predominantly barnacles, but the xenophyophores are still dominant. [02:09:00] [5]: back to xenophyophores/cerianthids [02:12:00] [6]: sparse pebbles and cobbles with barnacles and xenophyophores before reverting by [02:13:00] [7]: to xenophyophores and cerianthids. Then at [02:23:00] [8]: there is a denser patch of pebbles and cobbles (geogenic reef) mainly colonised by barnacles, but the seabed quickly reverts back to the main biotope mosaic at [02:24:00] [9]. END VIDEO B [03:04:30]/14:17.

Progression Start Duration Code Name
1[00:00:00]01:57:00M.AtLB.Mu.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic lower bathyal mud
2[01:57:01]00:04:59M.AtMB.Mx.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic mid bathyal mixed sediment
3[02:02:01]00:05:59M.AtLB.Mu.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic lower bathyal mud
4[02:08:01]00:00:59M.AtMB.Mx.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic mid bathyal mixed sediment
5[02:09:01]00:02:59M.AtLB.Mu.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic lower bathyal mud
6[02:12:01]00:00:59M.AtMB.Mx.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic mid bathyal mixed sediment
7[02:13:01]00:09:59M.AtLB.Mu.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic lower bathyal mud
8[02:23:01]00:00:59M.AtMB.Mx.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic mid bathyal mixed sediment
9[02:24:01]00:40:32M.AtLB.Mu.XenCom.SyrFraSyringammina fragilissima field on Atlantic lower bathyal mud

Unknown Annelida or Foraminifera : 1073 : O
Foraminifera
Syringammina fragilissima : 261 : C
Porifera
Porifera encrusting (blue) : 532 : R
Porifera encrusting sp. 1 (white) : 1 : R
Porifera lamellate sp. 10 : 1010 : O
Blue Porifera encrusting : 800 : R
Cnidaria
Cerianthidae sp. 1 : 2 : O
Actiniaria sp. 20 : 605 : O
cf. Halcampoididae sp. : 984 : R
Actinostolidae sp. 1 : 132 : R
Phelliactis sp. 1 : 255 : R
Caryophyllidae/Fabellidae (indet.) : 1058 : O
Caryophyllia sp. 5 (bullseye) : 584 : R
Flabellum sp. : 1056 : R
Epizoanthus sp. 1 (Paguridae associated) : 317 : R
Acanella arbuscula : 585 : F
Paramuricea sp. : 1050 : R
Gorgonacea sp. (pink, Solenosmilia assoc.) (Jasonisis) : 1070 : R
cf. Halipteris sp. : 1060 : O

Anthoptilum grandiflorum : 594 : R
Umbellula sp. : 581 : R
Stylaster sp. 1 : 361 : R
Arthropoda
Neolithodes grimaldii : 1063 : O
Munida tenuimana : 339 : R
Paguridae sp. : 205 : R
Pandalus borealis : 57 : R
Colossendeis sp. 1 : 1059 : O
Cirripedia sp. 1 : 82 : O
Mollusca
Graneledone verrucosa : 973 : R
Octopoda (indet.) : 659 : R
Teuthida sp. 1 : 1017 : R
Echinodermata
Crinoidea sp. : 1072 : O
Ophiomusa lymani : 551 : O
Stichastrella rosea : 198 : R
Pseudarchaster sp. 1 : 433 : R
Henricia sanguinolenta : 208 : O
Phormosoma placenta : 555 : R
Araeosoma fenestratum : 188 : R

Chordata
Leucoraja sp. : 1067 : R
Rajiformes sp. 1 (Neoraja caerulea?) : 652 : O
Squaliformes sp. : 569 : O
Hydrolagus cf. affinis : 1039 : O
Hydrolagus cf. mirabilis : 1024 : R
Chimaera opalescens : 653 : O
Harriotta raleighana : 936 : R
Synaphobranchus kaupii : 440 : C
Hoplostethus atlantica : 651 : O
Gaidropsarus argentatus : 174 : R
Brosme brosme : 258 : O
Coryphaenoides guentheri : 577 : F
Coryphaenoides rupestris : 566 : C
Polyacanthonotus rissoanus : 552 : O
Notacanthidae sp. 1 : 1009 : O
Actinopterygii sp. 3 : 930 : R
Actinopterygii sp. 4 : 1006 : R

Number of species = 55

© Marine Institute, MERC Consultants, Bernard Picton 2022