Dear Elizabeth,
Hidden away in earth's least explored realms, deep-sea corals form vibrant communities in oceans around the world. These hard-to-study  animals colonize seamounts and rock outcroppings -- just about anywhere in deep water there is solid ground and a nutrient-rich current.
Deep-sea corals grow very slowly, and, though they appear delicate, they
can live for centuries. Unfortunately, they are especially vulnerable to bottom trawling, a destructive fishing practice that, like clear-cutting an old-growth forest, destroys all living creatures caught up in its wake.
MCBI Vice President for Science, Dr. Lance Morgan,  recently returned from the Finding Coral Expedition, a research trip designed to study deep-water corals and document threats to their well-being. (Check out this video from the expedition.)
Photo of Keratoisis flexibilis, at 2,444 feet, by Brooke et al, NOAA 2005
Photo of Lance Morgan in submersible by Sheila McKenna. |
