Black coral occurrences on the Azores shelves (central north Atlantic) from 1991 to 2019 ...

• Main Authors: Tempera, Fernando, Sinde-Mano, Ana Luísa, Gomes-Pereira, José, Atchoi, Elizabeth, Matos, Valentina, Santos, Vanessa, Milla-Figueras, David, Das, Diya, Graca, Goncalo, Fontes, Jorge, Bates, Richard, Ribeiro, Pedro, Afonso, Pedro
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Marine Data Archive 2022
• Subjects: Biology > Benthos; Antipatharia; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14284/557; http://www.vliz.be/en/imis?dasid=8042&doiid=670

Black corals are antipatharian corals that occur from sublittoral to abyssal depths on hard, mixed and soft substrates. Under favourable conditions, some black coral species form dense stands known as black coral gardens which create habitat for a variety of associated species. ... : Black coral occurrences are considered indicative of the presence of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems according to the International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-Sea Fisheries in the High Seas (FAO, 2009). Furthermore, their international trade is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species because of concerns about the effects of black coral extraction on the fragile habitats they form. Dense stands of Antipathes wollastoni, Tanacetipathes sp., Antipathes furcata and Antipathella subpinnata have been observed on the Azores shelves but knowledge on their distribution and the assemblages they form is scarce. This dataset compiles black coral occurrences from sublittoral surveys conducted across the Azores archipelago (NE Atlantic) between 1991 and 2019. Sampling concentrated on island shelf and margin settings and was conducted using a variety of platforms: (i) two small remote operated vehicles (a VideoRay Explorer micro-ROV and a SeaBotix LBV300S-6 mini-ROV); (ii) two ...