Marine Institute
SeaRover Dive Video

D491 Transect 45 Carbonate and cobble/boulder reefs, mixed corals present including many large Leiopathes, Reteporella bryozoans also abundant. Some dense patches of brachiopods on sloping carbonate. Features of interest: carbonate mound, escarpment Water Depth: 969-701 m

Highlights: Antipatharian coral Antipatharian coral Paromola cuvieri on Lophelia and Madrepora Bamboo coral Antipatharian coral - Bathypathes Starfish - Ceramaster? Antipatharian coral Antipatharian coral - Bathypathes Octocoral - Drifa Octocoral - Drifa

No description.

START VIDEO A [00:00:00] [1] Sand with pebbles and patchy cobbles and boulders. Cidaris cidaris was sparsely distributed on the mixed sediment while mixed corals, especially Stichopathes sp . (OTU560). Psolus squamatus and an encrusting community are also present. [00:10:00] underlying sloping carbonate is briefly apparent. [00:11:00] [2] sloping carbonate/bedrock features and ledges with cobbles and boulders and areas of coral gravel. Mixed corals continue here although encrusting globose sponges dominate (OTU75) along with Reteporella sp . bryozoans. [00:12:00] ROV moving right (high) following ledge feature. [00:13:00] ROV moves in closer and moves back left. [00:17:00]-[00:20:00] stopped for imagery. [00:23:00] vertical carbonate rock with holes [00:25:00] ROV moves forward upslope. [00:27:00] coral framework present around the base of bedrock features where some solitary Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata are present. [00:31:00] [3] sloping/vertical carbonate with encrusting fauna and mixed corals, while intermediate ledges and slopes are full of dead coral framework with rare living colonies. These areas are likely formed from fallen living colonies from vertical rock above. [00:35:00]-[00:37:00] stop for imagery. [00:37:00] upper cliff hosts several discrete Lophelia pertusa colonies and is heavily colonised by pale zoanthids. [00:40:00] top of cliff with horizontal bedrock shelf and scattered cobbles/boulder behind, stop for imagery. [00:41:00] Move right along ledge. [00:43:00] [4] Proceed forward over horizontal bedrock with increasing sand veneer, and cobbles/boulders hosting Cidaris cidaris and discrete colonial scleractinian colonies (many are Madrepora oculata). [00:53:00]- [01:11:00], several stops to sample C. cidaris. [01:14:00]-[01:15:00] stop for imagery. [01:16:00] [5] dense cobble/boulder field well colonised by encrusting fauna, Reteporella and mixed corals including Leiopathes sp . and Antipathes dichotoma. [01:24:00] [6] sloping carbonate with encrusting fauna and Reteporella sp . with several dense patches of brachiopods. Ascend to edge of carbonate ledge with cobbles and boulders in depression below. Briefly follow curved edge of carbonate left. 01:027-[01:42:00] sampling two Lophelia pertusa colonies. [01:45:00]-[01:51:00] stop for imagery and L. pertusa sampling. [01:51:00] [7] Descend over edge of carbonate crust feature and descend diagonally right down slope of alternating cobbles /boulders with mixed corals and sparsely encrusted sloping carbonate [01:56:00] stop descent and start moving left along slope. [01:59:00] [8] cobbles boulders and sand with mixd corals, start moving upslope until stopping at END VIDEO A 02:38.

START VIDEO B [02:00:00]/02:39. [02:02:00]-[02:03:00] stopped. [02:05:00]-[02:23:00] stopped for sampling L. pertusa, [02:27:00]-[02:35:00] stopped to image and sample Drifa sp. [02:39:00] [9] transition to area of sand/gravel with pebbles and rare cobbles/boulders dominated by Cidaris cidaris. [02:43:00] move diagonally right uphill. [02:47:00] brief encounter with some boulders before reaching [02:48:00] [10] base of vertical/sloping carbonate densely colonised by brachiopods with abundant Araeosoma fenestratum also present. [02:50:00] [11] cobble/boulder field again colonised by mixed corals (e. g. Leiopathes sp. is abundant) and encrusting fauna with erect Reteporella sp. bryozoans. [02:52:00] stop and move left along a carbonate crust shelf before [02:55:00] proceeding forwards uphill, cobbles and boulders now sparser with sand/gravel overlying the carbonate crust. [02:57:00] moving diagonally left upslope. [02:59:00]-[03:05:00] sampling Madrepora oculata before continuing left. [03:08:00] ROV faces upslope and proceeds forward. [03:11:00] [12] the substrate tends more towards sand/mud and cobbles/boulders sparse. Urchins (C. cidaris, A. fenestratum) dominate. [03:23:00]-[03:30:00] stop to take two pushcores. Continue until END VIDEO B [03:32:15]/04:11.

Progression Start Duration Code Name
1[00:00:00]00:11:04M.AtMB.Ro.MixCorMixed cold water coral community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata
8[00:00:00]02:00:34M.AtMB.Ro.MixCorMixed cold water coral community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata
2[00:11:05]00:20:51M.AtMB.Ro.MixCorMixed cold water coral community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata
3[00:31:57]00:11:02M.AtMB.Ro.MixCorMixed cold water coral community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata
9[00:39:55]00:08:12M.AtMB.Sa.UrcCom.CidUrcCidarid urchin assemblage on Atlantic mid bathyal sand
4[00:43:00]00:33:30M.AtMB.Co.UrcCom.CidUrcCidarid urchin assemblage on Atlantic mid bathyal coarse sediment
10[00:48:08]00:01:58M.AtMB.Ro.BraComBrachiopod dominated community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata
11[00:50:07]00:21:34M.AtMB.Ro.MixCorMixed cold water coral community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata
12[01:11:42]00:19:59M.AtMB.Sa.UrcComUrchin dominated community on Atlantic mid bathyal sand
5[01:16:32]00:08:06M.AtMB.Ro.MixCorMixed cold water coral community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata
6[01:24:39]00:26:40M.AtMB.Ro.SpaEncSparse encrusting community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata
7[01:51:20]00:08:09M.AtMB.Ro.MixCorMixed cold water coral community on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata

Porifera
Aphrocallistes beatrix : 264 : R
Porifera cylindrical sp. (rough) : 1164 : R
Porifera encrusting globose (pale) : 75 : R
Porifera encrusting sp. 1 (white) : 1 : R
Porifera encrusting sp. 10 (yellow) : 30 : R
Porifera lamellate lobose (fleshy) : 1132 : R
Blue Porifera encrusting : 800 : R
Cnidaria
Actiniaria sp. 20 : 605 : O
Bolocera tuediae : 12 : R
Actiniidae sp. (sand Bolocera) : 41 : R
Phelliactis sp. 1 : 255 : R
Antipathes dichotoma : 1187 : O
Stichopathes cf. gravieri : 283 : F
Phanopathes sp. 2 : 1081 : R
Chrysopathes sp. Trissopathes sp. : 540 : O
Leiopathes sp. : 305 : F
Bathypathes sp. (brown) : 284 : R
Bathypathes sp. 1 : 328 : O
Parantipathes sp. : 1042 : O
Telopathes sp. 2 (red) : 1181 : R
Corallimorphidae sp. 1 : 39 : O
Caryophyllia sp. 2 : 6 : R
Lophelia pertusa : 250 : O
Madrepora oculata : 251 : O
Zoanthidea sp. : 1149 : R
Zoanthidae sp. 2 : 586 : R
Anthomastus grandiflorus : 278 : O
cf. Drifa/Alcyonacea sp. 2 : 140 : O
cf. Drifa/Alcyonacea sp. 2 : 140 : O
Acanella arbuscula : 585 : O

Eknomisis sp. : 649 : R
Lepidisis sp. : 557 : R
Gersemia sp. 3 : 1022 : R
Paragorgia (twiggy) (poss. Swiftia) : 1065 : R
Paramuricea sp. : 1050 : R
Gorgonacea sp. 7 (pink) cf. Isidella : 307 : O
Hydrozoa (bushy) : 50 : R
Hydrozoa (flat branched) : 56 : R
Pliobothrus sp. : 207 : R
Annelida
Bonellia viridis : 267 : R
Serpulidae sp. 1 : 106 : F
Arthropoda
Chirostylidae sp. 2 (indet.) : 1054 : R
Chaceon affinis : 254 : R
Paromola cuvieri : 304 : O
Munida sarsi : 200 : R
Munida tenuimana : 339 : R
Paguridae sp. : 205 : R
Caridea (indet.) : 1077 : R
Cirripedia sp. 1 : 82 : R
Mollusca
Margarites sp. 1 : 277 : R
Brachiopoda
Brachiopoda sp. 1 : 34 : R
Bryozoa
Reteporella sp. : 204 : C
Echinodermata
Crinoidea sp. 1 : 131 : R
Brisingidae sp. : 274 : R
Stichastrella rosea : 198 : R
Pseudarchaster sp. 1 : 433 : R

Henricia sanguinolenta : 208 : R
Goniasteridae sp. : 1002 : R
Ceramaster/Peltaster/Plinthaster sp. 2 : 388 : O
Porania sp. : 263 : R
Hymenaster membranaceus : 983 : R
Cidaris cidaris : 211 : O
Araeosoma fenestratum : 188 : F
Psolus squamatus : 252 : O
Benthogone sp. : 432 : O
Benthogone sp. : 432 : R
Parastichopus tremulus : 266 : R
Chordata
Ascidiacea (yellow) : 8 : R
Ascidiacea sp. 2 : 20 : R
Deania calcea : 1139 : R
Centrophorus squamosus : 1048 : R
Synaphobranchus kaupii : 440 : R
Merlangius melangus : 1019 : R
Brosme brosme : 258 : R
Coelorinchus caelorhincus : 303 : O
Coryphaenoides rupestris : 566 : R
Lepidion eques : 249 : O
Guttigadus latifrons : 1166 : R
Mora moro : 349 : O
Phycis blennoides : 1020 : O
Lophius piscatorius : 273 : R
Epigonus telescopus : 1018 : R
Helicolenus dactylopterus : 227 : R
Neocyttus helgae : 563 : O
Actinopterygii sp. 3 : 930 : R

Number of species = 85

© Marine Institute, MERC Consultants, Bernard Picton 2022