2016 MA, USA BOSTON, WHARF, MARRIOTT LONG -16, 11 SEPTEMBER 6th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals, Boston, MA, USA, 11-16 September 2016 Greetings to the Participants of the 6th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals We are very excited to welcome all of you to this year’s symposium in historic Boston, Massachusetts. While you are in Boston, we hope that you have a chance to take some time to see this wonderful city. There is a lot to offer right nearby, from the New England Aquarium right here on Long Wharf to Faneuil Hall, which is just across the street. A further exploration might take you to the restaurants and wonderful Italian culture of the North End, the gardens and swan boats of Boston Common, the restaurants of Beacon Hill, the shops of Newbury Street, the campus of Harvard University (across the river in Cambridge) and the eclectic square just beyond its walls, or the multitude of art and science museums that the city has to offer. We have a great program lined up for you. We will start off Sunday evening with a welcome celebration at the New England Aquarium. On Monday, the conference will commence with a survey of the multitude of deep-sea coral habitats around the world and cutting edge techniques for finding and studying them. We will conclude the first day with a look at how these diverse and fragile ecosystems are managed. On Monday evening, we will have the first poster session followed by the debut of the latest State“ of the Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems of the U.S.” report. On the second day, we are thrilled to kick things off with a session dedicated to Dr. Steve Cairns and his contributions to deep-sea coral taxonomy and systematics. We will follow this with a series of sessions on the latest genetic techniques in systematics, aspects of coral life history, and a look at the relationship between corals and other close associates. Tuesday evening will conclude with the conference dinner in the beautiful Harborview room. Wednesday will be a free day so we can catch our breath, with an optional excursion to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. We will reconvene on Thursday with a look at anthropogenic threats to corals: oil spills, fishing, mining, and climate change; hopefully ending the day on a brighter note. On Friday, we will take a closer look at a variety of Lophelia and other cold-water coral habitats, examining how they get their food and how they build large reef and mound structures, with a look into the future. This will be a very exciting step forward in deep-sea coral science, led by an outstanding group of established and emerging scientists. We eagerly anticipate the stimulating conversations and collaborations that this meeting will surely inspire. On behalf of the organizers and steering committee, welcome once again to Boston and the 6th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals! Sincerely, Timothy Shank Erik Cordes Biology Department Department of Biology Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Temple University 1 6th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals, Boston, MA, USA, 11-16 September 2016 Steering Committee Eleni Anagnostou Furu Mienis National Oceanography Centre Southampton NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research [email protected] [email protected] Peter Auster Martha Nizinski University of Connecticut NOAA NMFS [email protected] [email protected] Pål Buhl-Mortensen Andrea Quattrini Benthic Communities and Coastal interactions US Geological Survey Institute of Marine Research [email protected] [email protected] Murray Roberts Steve Cairns Heriot Watt University Smithsonian Institution [email protected] [email protected] Laura Robinson Erik Cordes School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol Temple University [email protected] [email protected] Ashley Rowden Amanda Demopoulos National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research U.S. Geological Survey [email protected] [email protected] Juan Armando Sánchez Evan Edinger Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina (BIOMMAR) Memorial University [email protected] [email protected] Timothy Shank Scott France Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution University of Louisiana [email protected] [email protected] Ron Thresher John Guinotte Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Marine Conservation Institute Organisation (CSIRO) [email protected] [email protected] Santiago Herrera Di Tracey Lehigh University National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research [email protected] [email protected] Veerle Huvenne Rhian Waller National Oceanography Centre, University of Maine University of Southampton [email protected] [email protected] Tjeerd Van Weering Brian Kinlan NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS) [email protected] National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) [email protected] Anna Metaxis Dalhousie University [email protected] 2 6th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals, Boston, MA, USA, 11-16 September 2016 Program 11 September - Sunday 12:00 pm Registration Opens in Hotel Lobby 3:00 pm Meeting of Steering Committee and Student Volunteers Harborview Room 5:00 – 9:00 pm Opening reception New England Aquarium Long Wharf, Boston 12 September - Monday 7:30 am Registration Opens Palm Garden Room 8:00 am Symposium begins; breakfast 8:30 am Erik Cordes Opening remarks Session B1: Habitat and Environmental Settings: Habitat Characterization, Mapping, and GIS Applications Session Chair: Furu Mienis, NIOZ 8:45 am Keynote: Veerle Huvenne From pixel to polyp: using novel robotic technology to achieve an integrated multi-resolution 3D characterisation of cold-water coral habitats in submarine canyons 9:15 am Andy Wheeler Coral mounds on the Irish margin revisited: a critical assessment of critical habitat 9:30 am Steinunn Ólafsdóttir Deep water corals and sea pens in the cold North Atlantic waters around Iceland 9:45 am Peter Etnoyer Where are the coral gardens? Mapping densities and condition of gorgonian octocorals in the mesophotic depth zone of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in Southern California 10:00 – 10:30 am Break Palm Garden Room 3 6th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals, Boston, MA, USA, 11-16 September 2016 Session B2: Habitat and Environmental Settings: Environment Habitat Conditions and Coral Distribution Session Chair: Scott France, University of Louisiana 10:30 am Christopher Kelley Rift zone ridge crests can provide topography and substrate conducive for the development of high-density deep-sea coral and sponge communities 10:45 am Rachel Wilborn Distribution, abundance, diversity and size of cold-water corals and sponges in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska 11:00 am Helle Jørgensbye Cup coral gardens (Flabellum alabastrum) a deep water, low relief ecosystem in Greenland 11:15 am Lara Miles Scale-dependent surficial geology influence on cold-water coral distribution, Flemish Cap, Northwest Atlantic 11:30 am Peter Auster Identifying spatially rare deep sea coral communities in the Gulf of Maine (NW Atlantic) 11:45 am J. Murray Roberts The ATLAS project: a trans-Atlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe 12:00 – 1:30 pm Lunch: Grand Ballroom and the Galway Declaration in the Harborview Room Session A1: Biology, Demography, and Ecology: Biodiversity, Community Structure, and Functional Role Session Chair: Steve Cairns, Smithsonian Institute 1:30 pm Martha Nizinski A Tale of Two Canyons: ROV Surveys Highlight Differences in Species Composition and Abundances of Deep-Sea Corals in Nygren and Heezen Canyons, Western North Atlantic 1:45 pm Amanda Demopoulos Food-web structure and isotopic niches of deep-sea corals and other consumers residing within Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons, U.S. Atlantic margin 2:00 pm Lissette Vicotero The Biodiversity and Spatial Distribution of Cold-Water Corals on Equatorial-Atlantic Seamounts 3:45 pm Chang-Feng Dai Deep-sea scleractinian corals in the South China Sea 2:30 pm Amy Baco-Taylor Recovery of Seamount Precious Coral Beds From Heavy Trawling Disturbance 2:45 pm Michael Parke Deep-sea coral and sponge research in the Pacific Islands 2015-2017 3:00 – 3:30 pm Break Palm Garden Room 4 6th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals, Boston, MA, USA, 11-16 September 2016 Session D1: Anthropogenic Threats and Management Strategies: Management and Conservation Strategies Session Chair: Murray Roberts, Heriot Watt University 3:30 pm Thomas Hourigan U.S. Fisheries and Deep-Sea Coral Habitats: Policy, Science and Conservation 3:45 pm Michelle Bachman Applying deep-sea coral science to fishery management in New England, U.S.A. 4:00 pm Kiley Dancy Collaborative Development of Deep-Sea Coral Protected Areas in the US Mid-Atlantic 4:15 pm Morgan Kilgour Ongoing Efforts and Challenges for Managing Deep-sea Corals in the Gulf of Mexico 4:30 pm Greg Boland Recent and Ongoing Research on Deep-water Coral Resources in the Gulf of Mexico 4:45 pm Harriet Harden-Davies Conserving deep-sea biodiversity in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction? 5:00 pm Poster Session I Palm Garden Room, Marriott Long Wharf 6:30 – 8 pm State of the Deep Sea Harborview Room, Marriott Long Wharf Corals Reception 13 September - Tuesday 7:30 am Registration Opens Palm Garden Room Session A2: Biology, Demography, and Ecology: Coral Taxonomy, Systematics, and Phylogenetics Session Chair: Martha Nizinski’s, NOAA NMFS 8:30 am Keynote: Scott France Further observations