Deep sea corals in the South Atlantic: new insights from an interdisciplinary study

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Ubiquitous to all oceans, scleractinian corals have been the main framework builders in the shallow and deep-sea since the Triassic. In contrast to their shallow-water counterparts, cold-water corals (also known as azooxanthellate or deep-sea corals) do not live in symbiosis with photosynthetic dinoflagellates. This means that they can live deep within the ocean without the need for light. Occurrences of deep-sea corals have been reported from Antarctica to the Arctic and down to depths as great as 6,300 m. Despite their global distribution, and potential importance in forming habitats, little is known about the controls on their distributions. With ongoing changes to the ocean environment it is timely to consider the potential vulnerability of these important ecosystems. This proposal represents a unique opportunity to combine the efforts of deep-sea coral researchers in the UK (Laura Robinson and Michelle Taylor) and Brazil (Marcelo V. Kitahara). The project seeks to initiate a long-term partnership which aims to build a coherent view of the long term controls (both today and in the past) on deep-sea corals in the South Atlantic.The South Atlantic holds numerous records of deep-sea coral species, especially on the Brazilian Margin - extending onto seamounts and ridges. These records encompass more than 60 species of which some are purported to form the largest deep-water coral reefs in the world. Such large reefs are formed under the influence of several water masses originating in both the high northern and southern latitudes. These waters have very different properties such as nutrient concentrations, pH and temperature. With this diversity in habitat and water column properties the South Atlantic is an ideal testing ground to explore the large scale controls on deep-sea corals in space and time. With access to samples to the North and South of Brazil (UK collaborators) and within the South Atlantic (Brazil) and with world leading expertise in taxonomy, genetics, deep sea ecology and coral mineralogy, growth rate, geochemistry and past climates we are proposing to come together in a new collaboration to share our ideas, samples and techniques. Within the two-year program we will organise exchange visits, establish a shared data base, share samples and access to laboratories. During the project we will seek to establish additional support to continue these efforts beyond the scope of this initial pump priming proposal.