Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Deep-sea corals are important long-lived structure-forming organisms in deep waters of Canada's three oceans. Deep-sea corals in Atlantic Canada's waters include more than thirty species of sea fans, black corals, soft corals, cup corals, and sea pens. Most of the sea fans, black corals and soft corals require rocky bottom on which to grow. This project will examine the geological origins of hard bottom areas in which corals grow, most of which are thought to be related to remnant glacial deposits. Some deep-water coral species can live for several centuries. This project will measure the growth rates and lifepans of the sea fans, black corals and cup corals, and examine the oceanographic factors affecting variation in growth rates. Corals will be aged using carbon dating and annual growth rings deposited in their skeletons. Deep-sea corals are thought to provide habitat for a variety of deep-sea invertebrates and fishes. Corals may be important as habitat for juveniles of several commercially important species. Corals also form biodiversity hotspots in the deep sea, which is generally not well explored. The diversity of fish and invertebrates inhabiting coral and non-coral habitats in similar depths and on similar substrates will be compared, in order to assess the importance of deep-sea corals to marine biodiversity and its conservation. Deep-sea corals are threatened by bottom-contact fishing using a variety of fishing gears. This project will continue studies of the relative impacts of different fisheries and gear types on deep-sea corals in the waters of Atlantic Canada. The distribution of corals will be compared with the distribution of fishing effort to suggest optimal conservation plans for deep-sea corals, to achieve maximum conservation benefit combined with minimum disruption to fisheries. This project will provide much-needed scientific guidance for deep-sea conservation in Atlantic Canada.