@article {ISI:000372166500012,
	title = {{Oceanographic patterns and carbonate chemistry in the vicinity of cold-water coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico: Implications for resilience in a changing ocean}},
	journal = {LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY},
	volume = {61},
	number = {2},
	year = {2016},
	month = {mar},
	pages = {648{\textendash}665},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {To accurately assess the threat that global climate change poses to marine systems, a detailed baseline of the current carbonate chemistry and other oceanographic conditions is required. Despite the heightened vulnerability of deep-sea communities to ocean acidification, there have been relatively few studies investigating the carbonate chemistry immediately above cold-water coral reefs. Here, we present data collected during five cruises from 2010 to 2014 in the northern Gulf of Mexico and quantify the carbonate system and other oceanographic parameters in offshore surface-waters, the water column, and at deep benthic sites. Benthic sites containing the scleractinian cold-water coral L. pertusa occurred in waters with a relatively wide temperature range (6.8-13.6 degrees C), low potential density (sigma(theta)=26.9 +/- 0.3 kg m(-3)), low dissolved oxygen concentration (111.3 +/- 2.0 mu mol kg(-1)), low pH(T) (7.87 +/- 0.04), low Omega(ARAG) (1.31 +/- 0.14), and a low availability of carbonate ions (94.4 +/- 9.2 mu mol kg(-1)) compared with L. pertusa habitats in other regions. Based on previous modelling and experimental results, these values place L. pertusa at the edge of its viable niche in the deep Gulf of Mexico. However, significantly elevated total alkalinity (+139-44 mu mol kg(-1)) was detected above large L. pertusa mounds, suggesting that carbonate dissolution within the mounds may be partially ameliorating the direct effects of ocean acidification. Together, these results provide an important baseline for assessing future oceanographic changes in the Gulf of Mexico and for predicting the resilience of cold-water coral reefs to global climate and ocean change.},
	keywords = {HOV Alvin (Human Occupied Vehicle), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0024-3590},
	doi = {10.1002/lno.10242},
	author = {Georgian, Samuel E and DeLeo, Danielle and Durkin, Alanna and Gomez, Carlos E and Kurman, Melissa and Lunden, Jay J and Cordes, Erik E}
}
@article {ISI:000338120000010,
	title = {{High-resolution ecological niche modelling of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa in the Gulf of Mexico}},
	journal = {MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES},
	volume = {506},
	year = {2014},
	pages = {145{\textendash}U454},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {The niche of many deep-sea species remains poorly resolved despite decades of seafloor exploration. Without better information on the distribution and habitat preference of key species, a complete understanding of the ecology of deep-sea communities will remain unattainable. It is increasingly apparent that cold-water corals are among the dominant foundation species in the deep sea, providing both structurally complex habitat and significant ecosystem services. In this study, the niche and distribution of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa in the Gulf of Mexico was evaluated using the maximum entropy (Maxent) approach. Ecological niche models were constructed for a broad region of the northern Gulf of Mexico using data gridded at a spatial resolution of 25 m, including bathymetry, substrate type, export productivity, and aragonite saturation state at depth. Fine-scale models were constructed at a resolution of 5 m using only remotely sensed bathymetric and surface reflectivity data. The broad-scale model performed well, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.981. All fine-scale models performed well when verified using training data (average AUC of 0.963) and when validated using independent occurrence data from a new geographic region (average AUC of 0.937). The distribution of L. pertusa in the Gulf of Mexico was found to be controlled primarily by depth, local topography, and availability of hard substrate. While these factors have long been associated with the success of cold-water corals, their relative importance has never been quantified in the Gulf of Mexico, making it historically difficult to precisely delineate L. pertusa{\textquoteright}s niche and predict its distribution in unexplored regions. Given these results, we suggest that future expeditions combine remotely sensed data with niche modelling techniques to increase the efficiency of deep-sea exploration.},
	keywords = {AUV Sentry (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0171-8630},
	doi = {10.3354/meps10816},
	author = {Georgian, Samuel E and Shedd, William and Cordes, Erik E}
}
@article {ISI:000322229800020,
	title = {{Niche divergence by deep-sea octocorals in the genus Callogorgia across the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico}},
	journal = {MOLECULAR ECOLOGY},
	volume = {22},
	number = {15},
	year = {2013},
	month = {aug},
	pages = {4123{\textendash}4140},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {Environmental variables that are correlated with depth have been suggested to be among the major forces underlying speciation in the deep sea. This study incorporated phylogenetics and ecological niche models (ENM) to examine whether congeneric species of Callogorgia (Octocorallia: Primnoidae) occupy different ecological niches across the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and whether this niche divergence could be important in the evolution of these closely related species. Callogorgia americana americana, Callogorgia americana delta and Callogorgia gracilis were documented at 13 sites in the GoM (250-1000 m) from specimen collections and extensive video observations. On a first order, these species were separated by depth, with C. gracilis occurring at the shallowest sites, C. a. americana at mid-depths and C. a. delta at the deepest sites. Callogorgia a. delta was associated with areas of increased seep activity, whereas C. gracilis and C. a. americana were associated with narrow, yet warmer, temperature ranges and did not occur near cold seeps. ENM background and identity tests revealed little to no overlap in ecological niches between species. Temporal calibration of the phylogeny revealed the formation of the Isthmus of Panama was a vicariance event that may explain some of the patterns of speciation within this genus. These results elucidate the potential mechanisms for speciation in the deep sea, emphasizing both bathymetric speciation and vicariance events in the evolution of a genus across multiple regions.},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0962-1083},
	doi = {10.1111/mec.12370},
	author = {Quattrini, Andrea M and Georgian, Samuel E and Byrnes, Luke and Stevens, Alex and Falco, Rosalia and Cordes, Erik E}
}
