@article {ISI:000330965000004,
	title = {{Age and growth of the cold-water scleractinian Solenosmilia variabilis and its reef on SW Pacific seamounts}},
	journal = {CORAL REEFS},
	volume = {33},
	number = {1},
	year = {2014},
	month = {mar},
	pages = {31{\textendash}38},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {Little is known about growth rates of deep-water reef-forming corals or the rates at which these reefs accumulate. Such information is critical for determining the resilience of the reefs to anthropogenic impacts such as trawling and climate change. We radiocarbon date live-caught and sub-fossil samples of the bioherm-forming coral Solenosmilia variabilis collected from precisely known depths and locations by means of a remotely operated vehicle on seamounts south of Tasmania, Australia. The growth rate of colonies live-caught between 958 and 1,454 m, which spans most of the depth range of the species locally, ranged from 0.84 to 1.25 mm linear extension yr(-1) and tended to be higher in the deeper-caught material. Analysis of skeletal microstructure suggests annual deposition of growth increments near the growing tips, but not closer to the base, as the skeleton is extended and thickened. Dating of sub-fossil material indicates S. variabilis has been present on Tasmanian seamounts for at least the last 47,000 yrs and a reef accumulation rate of 0.27 mm yr(-1).},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0722-4028},
	doi = {10.1007/s00338-013-1097-y},
	author = {Fallon, S J and Thresher, R E and Adkins, J}
}
@article {Thresher2014,
	title = {{Strong Depth-Related Zonation of Megabenthos on a Rocky Continental Margin ( similar to 700-4000 m) off Southern Tasmania, Australia: e85872}},
	journal = {PLoS ONE},
	volume = {9},
	number = {1},
	year = {2014},
	publisher = {BioMed Central Ltd.},
	address = {United Kingdom},
	abstract = {Assemblages of megabenthos are structured in seven depth-related zones between {\~{}}700 and 4000 m on the rocky and topographically complex continental margin south of Tasmania, southeastern Australia. These patterns emerge from analysis of imagery and specimen collections taken from a suite of surveys using photographic and in situ sampling by epibenthic sleds, towed video cameras, an autonomous underwater vehicle and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Seamount peaks in shallow zones had relatively low biomass and low diversity assemblages, which may be in part natural and in part due to effects of bottom trawl fishing. Species richness was highest at intermediate depths (1000-1300 m) as a result of an extensive coral reef community based on the bioherm-forming scleractinian Solenosmilia variabilis. However, megabenthos abundance peaked in a deeper, low diversity assemblage at 2000-2500 m. The S. variabilis reef and the deep biomass zone were separated by an extensive dead, sub-fossil S. variabilis reef and a relatively low biomass stratum on volcanic rock roughly coincident with the oxygen minimum layer. Below 2400 m, megabenthos was increasingly sparse, though punctuated by occasional small pockets of relatively high diversity and biomass. Nonetheless, megabenthic organisms were observed in the vast majority of photographs on all seabed habitats and to the maximum depths observed - a sandy plain below 3950 m. Taxonomic studies in progress suggest that the observed depth zonation is based in part on changing species mixes with depth, but also an underlying commonality to much of the seamount and rocky substrate biota across all depths. Although the mechanisms supporting the extraordinarily high biomass in 2000-2500 m depths remains obscure, plausible explanations include equatorwards lateral transport of polar production and/or a response to depth-stratified oxygen availability.},
	keywords = {AUV ABE (Autonomous Benthic Explorer), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0085872},
	url = {http://norton.whoi.edu/sfx{\_}local?url{\_}ver=Z39.88-2004{\&}rft{\_}val{\_}fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal{\&}genre=article{\&}sid=ProQ:ProQ{\%}253Apqdibs{\&}atitle=Strong+Depth-Related+Zonation+of+Megabenthos+on+a+Rocky+Continental+Margin+{\%}2528+similar+to},
	author = {Thresher, R and Althaus, F and Adkins, J and Gowlett-Holmes, K and Alderslade, Phil and Dowdney, Jo and Cho, W and Gagnon, A and Staples, D and McEnnulty, F}
}
@article {ISI:000296056300001,
	title = {{Extraordinarily high biomass benthic community on Southern Ocean seamounts}},
	journal = {SCIENTIFIC REPORTS},
	volume = {1},
	year = {2011},
	month = {oct},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {We describe a previously unknown assemblage of seamount-associated megabenthos that has by far the highest peak biomass reported in the deep-sea outside of vent communities. The assemblage was found at depths of 2-2.5 km on rocky geomorphic features off the southeast coast of Australia, in an area near the Sub-Antarctic Zone characterised by high rates of surface productivity and carbon export to the deep-ocean. These conditions, and the taxa in the assemblage, are widely distributed around the Southern mid-latitudes, suggesting the high-biomass assemblage is also likely to be widespread. The role of this assemblage in regional ecosystem and carbon dynamics and its sensitivities to anthropogenic impacts are unknown. The discovery highlights the lack of information on deep-sea biota worldwide and the potential for unanticipated impacts of deep-sea exploitation.},
	keywords = {AUV ABE (Autonomous Benthic Explorer), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {2045-2322},
	doi = {10.1038/srep00119},
	author = {Thresher, R E and Adkins, J and Fallon, S J and Gowlett-Holmes, K and Althaus, F and Williams, A}
}
@article {ISI:000296085300022,
	title = {{Modal analysis of the deep-water solitary scleractinian, Desmophyllum dianthus, on SW Pacific seamounts: inferred recruitment periodicity, growth, and mortality rates}},
	journal = {CORAL REEFS},
	volume = {30},
	number = {4},
	year = {2011},
	month = {dec},
	pages = {1063{\textendash}1070},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {Little is known about the demography of corals inhabiting deep-sea features due to the logistical difficulties of working at the extreme depths they inhabit. To obtain basic information about growth, mortality, and recruitment dynamics for such a coral, we applied modal analysis to the size frequency distributions of live-caught and sub-fossil specimens of the widely distributed solitary cup coral, Desmophyllum dianthus, collected on SW Pacific seamounts. Comparison of live-caught material collected in 1997 and 2007-2009 indicated modal progression over time and an implied maximum age of approximately 190 years, which is similar to ages determined previously for D. dianthus using radiometric techniques. A log-linear decline in the number of individuals with increasing size further implies a constant adult mortality rate, of 15.1{\%} per annum in 1997 and 9.2{\%} per annum in 2007-2009. The spacing of size modes in the 2007-2009 samples suggests regularly episodic recruitment events, at 22- to 32-year intervals, which may relate to periodic variability in large-scale Southern Ocean circulation. Preliminary analyses of size frequency distributions of the sub-fossil material suggest that the trophodynamics, growth, and adult mortality schedules of D. dianthus in the SW Pacific have remained basically similar throughout the Holocene.},
	keywords = {AUV ABE (Autonomous Benthic Explorer), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0722-4028},
	doi = {10.1007/s00338-011-0806-7},
	author = {Thresher, R E and Adkins, J and Thiagarajan, N}
}
