// HABITATS Synthesis and Conclusions Coral species (in all of their life stages) are distributed throughout the Gulf. Some of the more prominent occurrences of coral include the following areas: the East and West Flower Garden Banks, Florida Middle Grounds, southwest tip of the Florida reef tract, the predominant patchy hard bottom offshore of Florida from about Crystal River south to the Keys, and scattered pinnacles and banks from Texas to Mississippi at the shelf edge (GMFMC, 2004). Shallow and deep-sea corals are threatened by a variety of impacts such as water pollution, overfishing, destructive fishing practices, disease, global climate change, ship groundings and oil spills. Corals serve as critical habitats for fish and invertebrates. For deep-sea Gulf corals, there are significant knowledge gaps regarding their locations, biology and ecology. Our limited understanding of these organisms makes estimating environmental impacts and recovery quite difficult. Continued monitoring and research of these organisms is essential to understanding impacts from the DWH oil disaster and their role in creating and supporting habitats.
Text Citations Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC). (1982). Fishery management plan for coral and coral reefs. Tampa, FL: Author. Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC). (2004). Final environmental impact statement for the generic essential fish habitat amendment to the fishery management plans of the Gulf of Mexico. Tampa, FL: Author. Kleypas, J. A., McManus, J. W., & Menez, L. A. B. (1999). Environmental limits to coral reef development: Where do we draw the line? American Zoology, 39, 146-159. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2008). Report to Congress on the implementation of the deep sea coral research and technology program. Silver Spring, MD: Author. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2010). NOAA Strategic Plan for Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems: Research, Management, and International Cooperation. Silver Spring, MD: Author. Prouty, N. G., Roark, E. B., Buster, N. A., & Ross, S. W. (2011). Growth rate and age distribution of deep-sea black corals in the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 423, 101-115. Spalding, M. D., Ravilious, C., & Green, E. P. (2001). World Atlas of Coral Reefs. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
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