State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
Sci Rep. 2019 Oct 29;9(1):15453. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-51797-3.
A deep-water coral forest, characterized by slender and whip-shaped bamboo corals has been discovered from water depths of 1200-1380 m at the western edge of the Xisha (Paracel Islands) area in the South China Sea. The bamboo corals are often accompanied by cold-water gorgonian "sea fan" corals: Anthogorgia sp. and Calyptrophora sp., as well as assemblages of sponges, cirrate octopuses, crinoids and other animals. The coral density increased toward the shallower areas from 24.8 to 220 colonies per 100 m from 1380 m to 1200 m water depth. This is the first set of observations of deep-water bamboo coral forests in Southeast Asia, opening a new frontier for systematic, ecological and conservation studies to understand the deep-coral ecosystem in the region.
在南海西沙（帕拉塞尔群岛）海域西部边缘，水深 1200-1380 米处发现了一片以细长鞭状形态为特征的深水珊瑚林，这片珊瑚林由竹珊瑚组成。冷水柳珊瑚“海扇”：Anthogorgia sp. 和 Calyptrophora sp. 常与这些竹珊瑚相伴，此外还有海绵、箭石、海百合和其他动物的组合。从 1380 米水深到 1200 米水深，珊瑚密度从每 100 米 24.8 株增加到 220 株。这是首次在东南亚地区观察到深水竹珊瑚林，为系统、生态和保护研究开辟了一个新的领域，以了解该地区的深海珊瑚生态系统。
