HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Harbor Branch Team to Conduct First Comprehensive Monitoring Survey of Deepwater Reefs

PRESS RELEASE
Distributed May 31, 2006
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution

FORT PIERCE -- Several spectacular deepwater reefs have been discovered off Florida in recent years, and all indicators suggest these submerged wonderlands are nurseries for commercially important fish and vital habitat for numerous other animals, including some that may produce chemicals capable of curing human diseases. Nonetheless, very little is known about these reefs because exploration has been extremely limited, and long-term studies have been all but non-existent. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution scientists are hoping to change that.

Beginning today, and ending June 9, a Harbor Branch team will use the institution's Johnson-Sea-Link II submersible, sub-deployed time-lapse video and listening devices, and towed nets to perform the first comprehensive survey of a Florida deepwater reef. In addition to Harbor Branch scientists, there will also be participants on the expedition from the Ocean Research and Conservation Association; the University of Florida; the University of Miami; the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Estuarine, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences, Inc.; NOVA Southeastern University; and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Goals for the project will include a preliminary assessment of the diversity of fish, coral and other species; assessment of factors responsible for surprising fluctuations seen during past expeditions in animal diversity and abundance between seemingly similar locations; and identification of factors such as food type that are responsible for the reefs' remarkable diversity.

Results of the research will be submitted to the Florida Oceans and Coastal Resources Council to aid in the development of research goals and priorities for Florida deepwater reef studies. The information will also help the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with ongoing efforts to formulate a management plan for these resources. The long-term goal will be to work with state and federal agencies to secure funding for regular deep-reef surveys that will use results from the upcoming expedition as a baseline to identify threats to the reefs and to contribute to the formulation of the best management plans for their protection.

Deep reefs are common off the southeastern U.S., though most remain unseen because of a lack of exploration. These reefs are characterized by mounds, slopes, and rock ridges, all of which can support a diversity of life that rivals and at times surpasses shallow coral reefs. Deepwater reefs are found below the depth that sunlight can penetrate, so corals there lack the algae that provide much of their shallow cousins' food and have to rely instead on food carried to them by currents or sinking down from above. Harbor Branch has discovered six new reefs since 2003 that are now under consideration for classification as marine protected areas.

The survey expedition will focus on the Miami Terrace, a 65-km long platform that runs from South Miami to Boca Raton about 15 miles offshore in depths from 650 to 2,000 feet (200 to 600 meters). Rock ridges along the Miami Terrace provide habitat for a rich, deepwater reef ecosystem of corals, sea fans, sponges, and fishes.

During the expedition, the team will locate and survey highly diverse areas and adjacent areas with lower diversity in order to make comparisons. By analyzing video, photos, and collected samples, researchers will assess and compare the abundance and distribution of fishes, sponges, and other animals found between sites on the reefs.

Using information gathered with the submersible as well as a specialized trawl net that can be triggered to open and close at certain depths, the group will also analyze the abundance and distribution of the small animals and larvae known collectively as zooplankton at and above the sites. The zooplankton are of particular interest as they are likely to be one of the key food sources that sustains the reefs. Organisms will also be collected for tests to identify those that might produce chemicals with the potential to treat human diseases, an ongoing area of research at Harbor Branch.

In addition to using the submersible to collect information about the reefs, the team will also be placing video and acoustic monitoring equipment at study sites for longer-term monitoring. Time-lapse video recordings will allow them to assess differences in the abundance and behavior of animals during the day and at night.

Throughout the expedition, the scientists will work to carefully document signs of human activities related to the reefs, such as the presence of lost fishing gear and trash.

Regular dispatches and photos from the project will be posted at Harbor Branch's expedition website, www.at-sea.org.

For more information or to request high-res photos or b-roll, please contact Mark Schrope at Harbor Branch, 772-216-0390 or schrope@hboi.edu.

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.