A CATSHARK NURSERY IN A DEEP GORGONIAN FIELD IN THE MISSISSIPPI CANYON, GULF OF MEXICO

摘要

Gorgonian corals (Anthozoa: Alcyonaria: Gorgonacea) are a conspicuous component of the deep-water benthic megafauna in the Gulf of Mexico (Alcyonaria: Deich-mann, 1936; Bayer, 1954; Giammona, 1978; MacDonald et al., 1996; Cairns and Bayer, 2002). Callogorgia spp. primnoid colonies in particular are widespread throughout the Gulf, with one endemic species in the Mississippi delta region, Callogorgia americana delta Cairns and Bayer, 2002. Primnoid octocorals in the North Pacific are considered habitat-forming because they grow large enough to provide substrate and shelter for associated species offish and invertebrates (Krieger and Wing, 2002; Etnoyer and Morgan, 2003, 2005).