First footage of new Irish deepwater coral reefs

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• published: 19 May 2016
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On a research cruise in July 2015 we discovered 4 previously unknown cold-water coral reefs in Irish waters - this video includes the first footage of one of these reefs! These coral reefs and gardens are found in the deep waters of the Porcupine Bank just off the west coast of Ireland. At 800m depth, you cannot dive to see these, instead you'll need a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with a video camera. We discovered these reefs by building a mathematical predictive model. Data from satellites can be used to build up maps of environmental conditions. We can tell our model where we know there are reefs and it will search for similar conditions in other areas, outputting a new map highlighting where those reefs might be found. A few highlights worth noting are: - The amazing big orange corals (and smaller ones later on in the video). These are Antipatharian black corals called Leiopathes sp. These animals are known to be very slow growing (micrometers per year) so the ones seen here may be thousands of years old!* - The carrier crab (Paromola cuvieri) carrying a sponge (Aphrocallistes sp) with its modified back legs. We still don't know why they do this, although many scientists think this may be a defensive mechanism offering a shield or even a weapon in case of attack (they have also been seen carrying corals which can have a powerful sting). Whatever the reason they look pretty silly, like they are trying to hide behind something tiny very unsuccessfully. -The cold-water coral reefs. These are found worldwide in deep-waters (and also shallow waters closer to the poles). Although they are, as they look, mostly formed from dead corals, they still host a lot of living animals including living reef-forming corals (here Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata), Antipatharians (like Leiopoathes sp), anemones, urchins (e.g. Cidaris cidaris the pencil urchin), some sponge species, and a few fishes (eg. Lepidion eques). As you can imagine there are also many creatures hiding in amongst the coral branches, especially brittle stars (Ophiuroids) and Polychaete worms. Worldwide we are making efforts to conserve these reef habitats - the amount of life they harbour makes them a valuable ecosystem and worth protecting. Reefs mostly need protection from destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling, although the good news is that fishermen usually try to avoid them anyway as they tend to shred their nets (!), and when we protect them they function as a safe-haven for juvenile fish which grow up and repopulate our fishery stocks promoting a healthy environment for both marine diversity and the fisheries. - the fluff going by in the water column. Although many people might overlook this as boring, it is worth remembering that this is what feeds a lot of the life down here. Consisting of detritus and plankton, the corals especially are trying to feed on this. And if you are not interested in that, at the very least you can use it as an indicator of how strong the current is flowing (like rain or snow showing the strength of the wind) - something which changes throughout the video as we move through different environments. Just remember that none of these animals have been seen before - it is like visiting a forest that no-one has ever been to. It is amazing how little we know about what lives in the deep-sea - the vast majority of it remains unexplored and unknown! So come on all you budding explorers - follow us into the deep-sea and see what you can discover! This is footage taken by the Holland I ROV aboard the RV Celtic Explorer. (Cruise CE15011, Station23) * link to the research on the age of Leiopathes... super cool! http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/03/20/0810875106.abstract