[Coral-List] New paper on cold-water corals of the Azores (Mid-Atlantic Ridge)

[Andreia Braga Henriques]

Dear colleagues,

For those who may be interested, we just recently published a paper on
cold-water coral diversity and distribution in the Azores EEZ using a
database with over 2500 entries concerning historical oceanographic
expeditions, other sources, and unpublished by-catch data from longline
fishing. 

This study shows that the benthic habitats of the region are true hotspots
of coral diversity documenting 164 species (78 alcyonaceans, 18
antipatharians, 58 scleractinians, and 9 stylasterids). Coral diversity is
particularly high between 300 and 900 m depths, in areas recognized as
traditional fishing grounds.

Braga-Henriques et. al. (2013) Diversity, distribution and spatial structure
of the cold-water coral fauna of the Azores (NE Atlantic). Biogeosciences,
10, 4009­4036.

The paper is open access, and you can find a link to it at the following
website:

http://www.biogeosciences.net/10/4009/2013/bg-10-4009-2013.pdf

Best Regards,
Andreia
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Andreia Braga Henriques
Institute of Marine Research of the
University of the Azores (IMAR-DOP/UAc)
LARSyS Associated Laboratory,
PT-9901-862 Horta
Portugal