WOODS HOLE – A September exploration of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument by local researchers has led to the discovery of two new species of deep-sea corals.
DNA analysis recently confirmed the discovery by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists and collaborators at OceanX, the University of Connecticut, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Lydonia Canyon about 100 miles off the Coast of Cape Cod.
During the two-week expedition, the scientists collected a total of 29 coral samples in Lydonia Canyon at depths between 1,200 and 3,000 feet using the submarine Nadir.
These were the first human-occupied submersible dives in this canyon since 1982 and only the third deep-submergence mission to Lydonia Canyon.
“Through ongoing genetic barcoding, we have identified at least two corals so far that represent genetically different species,” said Tim Shank, a WHOI deep-sea biologist. “They don’t show sufficient genetic similarity to be any species that is currently known in the world’s repository for DNA sequences.”
The new species are bubblegum corals, which are described as soft, deep-water corals.
Shank noted that coral species deep in the canyon at nearly 3,000 feet below the surface were very different from those found in shallower waters.
In total, the team collected some 200 samples of corals, sponges, and other marine life during the expedition’s three submersible dives.