Emma L. Hickerson

Discovery of Acropora palmata at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Coral Reefs (2006) 25: 192 DOI 10.1007/s00338-005-0054-9 Reef sites Fig. 1 Acropora palmata colony, at 23.5 m depth, East Bank of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (photo courtesey of G.P. Schmahl) In the past few decades, corals of the genus Acropora have been decimated throughout their range in the Caribbean/Western Atlantic. The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has considered listing these corals as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (Oliver 2005; Precht et al. 2005). Recently, Acropora has been observed for the first time in new locations (Precht and Aronson 2006), including northwards along the Atlantic coast of Florida and on the reefs of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS), in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (Precht and Aronson 2004). In July 2003, a colony of A. palmata was identified in 21.6 m depth on the coral cap of the West Flower Garden Bank (27 52.4¢N, 93 48.8¢W). This colony, the first record from FGBNMS, has an encrusting basal plate and one small branch. In May 2005 it measured 0.6 m in width and 0.5 m in height, with a maximum branch length of 8.8 cm. In June 2005, a second colony was discovered at the East Flower Garden Bank (27 54.5¢N, 93 36.0¢W) at a depth of 23.5 m (Fig. 1). This second colony was 0.5 m in width and 1 m in height, with a maximum branch length of 30 cm. This is the deepest reported record of A. palmata from the Caribbean and western Atlantic region. Acropora palmata has long been thought to be a shallow-water species, occurring primarily in depths <5 m (Lighty et al. 1982). These discoveries of A. palmata colonies at depths >20 m should lead to reconsideration of this commonly held view. It may be that these deep colonies represent a refuge for A. palmata. While it is presumed from earlier studies that the dispersal potential of A. palmata is only 5 days to 2 weeks (Baums et al. 2005), the remote location of the FGBNMS (640 km from the nearest Mexican reefs and 1,120 km from the Florida Keys) requires long-distance dispersal and migration of viable larvae. Future research will address the biogeographic origins of these newly discovered corals.

Crustaceans from antipatharians on banks of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract The stalked barnacle Oxynaspis gracilis, the chirostylid squat lobster Uroptychus sp., and the caridean shrimps Periclimenes cf. antipathophilus and Pseudopontonides principis have been collected at 68–124 m by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) on banks in the northern Gulf of Mexico. These species inhabited six species of antipatharian hosts. Pseudopontonides principis, Oxynaspis gracilis, and Uroptychus sp. were not confined to a single host species. Except for Oxynaspis gracilis, collected by ROV in 2004–2005, these species have not been reported previously in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

High-resolution multibeam mapping and submersible surveys of topographic features in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Summary form only given. The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) and the USGS Pacific Seafloor Mapping Project mapped approximately 2000 km/sup 2/ of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf during June 2002, using a Kongsberg Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echosounder. Mapping focused on select topographic highs that have been identified as biological features warranting protection from oil and gas activities by the Minerals Management Service (MMS). These areas are of interest for future biological and ecological investigations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). High-resolution bathymetry maps were not previously available for these features, with the exception of the East and West Flower Garden Banks, where these data have been crucial in Deep Water Habitat Characterization surveys. Previous investigations conducted on the features of interest (with the exceptions of East and West Flower Garden and Sonnier Banks, accessible by SCUBA) had not been conducted since the 1970s and 1980s, and without the use of high-resolution, georeferenced maps to target survey sites. In 2002, the multibeam base maps were instrumental in targeting dive sites during the Sustainable Seas Expedition (SSE)-a submersible effort culminating from a partnership between NOAA and the National Geographic Society (NGS). Data obtained during this project will contribute to the benthic habitat characterization and assessment of the associated fish communities. The base maps will also be used for all future ROV and submersible missions to investigate these features. The multibeam data has provided a base data layer for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) projects into which all future (and historical) data can be integrated and upon which future scientific investigations can be planned and implemented.