Publications

Using the North Atlantic deep sea as a case study, we propose a database structure to facilitate standardisation of morphospecies image catalogues between research groups and support future use in multiple front-end applications. We also propose a framework for coordination of international efforts to develop reference guides for the identification of marine species from images.

The stable isotope geochemistry of gorgonian octocoral skeletons facilitates detailed time series reconstructions of nutrient biogeochemistry. However, comparisons among reconstructions from different locations require realistic estimates of the uncertainty surrounding each measured geochemical value. Here, we determine quantitative uncertainties related to 1) standard skeletal pretreatment in preparation for stable isotopic analysis and 2) biological variability associated with a heterogeneous isotopic composition of the gorgonin skeleton.

Red tree coral (Primnoa pacifica), a keystone species forms large thickets, creating habitat for many associated species, including economically valuable fishes and crabs, and so are important benthic suspension feeders in this region. Though the reproductive periodicity of this species was reported in 2014 from a shallow fjord (Tracy Arm), this study examined reproductive ecologies from 8 sites – two within Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, three on the continental shelf edge, one within Endicott Arm (Holkham Bay) and two time points from the Tracy Arm (Holkham Bay) study. 

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A total of 493 sponges were collected with a bottom trawl during annual groundfish stock assessment surveys in the eastern Bering Sea in 2013, 2015, and 2016 to build an inventory of species in this largely unexplored region. We report here principally on the demosponge fauna collected during those surveys because identifications of hexactinellids are incomplete. We identified 42 unique demosponge taxa from the collection including geographical range extensions for 30 species; seven are new records for the Pacific Ocean.

We compared the use of deep-sea corals and sponges by fish species in two ecosystems. Rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) and Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) densities were significantly correlated to structured seafloors at the scale of transects across both regions. The implication of this research is that the presence of structure increases the density of rockfishes, and removal of deep-sea corals and sponges is likely to reduce the overall density of rockfishes.

Research is needed to determine the seasonal importance of high-relief habitats, particularly those containing biotic structures to rockfishes within the Gulf of Alaska. We examined the density and community structure of commercially important rockfishes in low-relief, high-relief, and biotic habitats in the spring, summer, and winter seasons at three sites in the central Gulf of Alaska using stereo drop cameras and bottom trawls.

Cold-water coral and sponge communities are important indicators of vulnerable marine ecosystems and are used to delineate areas for marine conservation and fisheries management. Here, we used a diverse set of environmental data layers (n=30) representing a range of bathymetric derivatives, physicochemical variables, and water column properties to assess the primary factors influencing the niche separation and potential distributions of six habitat-forming groups of cold-water coral and sponge in the northeast Pacific region of Canada

NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation (OHC) in the National Marine Fisheries Service is participating in an Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group studying marine life in the Gulf of Mexico and the impact of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill on that life. The NOAA Central Library was consulted to create this annotated bibliography to provide OHC with literature on the mesophotic and deep sea corals in the Gulf of Mexico. In particular this bibliography covers the impacts of the DWH oil spill, mapping and restoration techniques for those coral communities. 

Aphyonids are poorly-known, live-bearing brotulas (Ophidiiformes, Bythitidae) that until recently were considered to be in a distinct family, Aphyonidae. A single, ca. 9.3 cm total length aphyonid observed during a remotely-operated vehicle survey in the Mariana Archipelago at 2504.2 m on Explorer Ridge (20.68152°N, 145.08750°E) is the first seen alive in its natural habitat. Collection to verify its identification was not possible, but based on observations it was a species of either Barathronus or Nybelinella.

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Mechanical failures forced many B-29s into the ocean surrounding Saipan and Tinian. Terrestrial wreckage of these aircraft has been located in the Pacific region, but no losses in deep water were located until 2016, when a NOAA exploration cruise investigated sonar targets in the Saipan Channel, between Saipan and Tinian. Disarticulated wreckage from a B-29 was located at 370 m over a large area of the seabed. Telepresence-enabled, non-invasive exploration from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer allowed scientists on shore to view live streaming video and to work collaboratively to guide the investigation.