Naturalist Richard Pyle explores the mysterious, dimly lit realm of deep coral reefs

Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Deep Coral

Deep coral reefs are different

Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 361 (6399) ◽  
pp. 240.7-241
Author(s):  
Sacha Vignieri
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Deep Coral

Assessing Undiscovered Fish Biodiversity on Deep Coral Reefs Using Advanced Self-Contained Diving Technology

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 82-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Pyle
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Species Assemblage ◽  
Mixed Gas ◽  
Deep Reef ◽  
Island Group ◽  
Reef Fish Species ◽  
Deep Reefs ◽  
Deep Coral

Due primarily to limitations of existing technology, deep (60‐150 m) coral reefs have remained largely unexplored. In 1989 I began developing the use of mixed-gas SCUBA and other ‘technical’ diving techniques as a tool for ichthyological investigation of coral reefs at depths of 60‐150 m, and have since conducted initial exploratory expeditions to the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, and the Patau Islands. These expeditions yielded over 200 fish specimens, comprising more than 100 species representing 20 different families. Among these are more than fifty new species, three-quarters of which belong to the families Labridae, Gobiidae, and Serranidae, and the rest are among 9 other families. The number of new species within each family parallels that of the overall deep-reef species assemblage, except for Apogonidae with a total of 7 collected species, none of which were new. Analysis of specimens and videotape surveys of the ichthyofauna at one 90-m site in Patau suggests that as many as 70% of the species inhabiting this depth are undescribed. New species assemblages on deep reefs show comparatively low distributional overlap (both between different island groups, and between sites within each island group), suggesting higher rates of geographic endemism than for shallow-reef assemblages. Based on these and other observed patterns, conservative extrapolations suggest as many as 2,000 or more coral-reef fish species await discovery on deep coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific.

scholarly journals Aggressive colonial ascidian impacting deep coral reefs at Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Coral Reefs ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Sommer ◽  
P. L. Harrison ◽  
S. R. Scheffers
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Colonial Ascidian ◽  
Netherlands Antilles ◽  
Deep Coral

scholarly journals Variability of bottom carbonate chemistry over the deep coral reefs in the Florida Straits and the impacts of mesoscale processes

2020 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
pp. 101555
Author(s):  
Mingshun Jiang ◽  
Chudong Pan ◽  
Leticia Barbero ◽  
John Reed ◽  
Joseph E. Salisbury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Florida Straits ◽  
Mesoscale Processes ◽  
Deep Coral

scholarly journals Tosanoides annepatrice, a new basslet from deep coral reefs in Micronesia (Perciformes, Percoidei, Serranidae)

ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 786 ◽  
pp. 139-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Pyle ◽  
Brian D. Greene ◽  
Joshua M. Copus ◽  
John E. Randall
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Cytochrome Oxidase ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
The Other ◽  
Body Depth ◽  
Dorsal Fin ◽  
Tropical Western Pacific ◽  
Fin Length ◽  
Deep Coral

The new species Tosanoidesannepatricesp. n. is described from four specimens collected at depths of 115–148 m near Palau and Pohnpei in Micronesia. It differs from the other three species of this genus in life color and in certain morphological characters, such as body depth, snout length, anterior three dorsal-fin spine lengths, caudal-fin length, and other characters. There are also genetic differences from the other four species of Tosanoides (d ≈ 0.04–0.12 in mtDNA cytochrome oxidase I). This species is presently known only from Palau and Pohnpei within Micronesia, but it likely occurs elsewhere throughout the tropical western Pacific.

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