Highlights: 00:58:50 Crab - Cancer sp. 01:32:38 Pink & white Lophelia & cup coral - Desmophyllum dianthus 01:35:12 Spectacular Lophelia reef

This site has an escarpment which appears to run for 100 m. Extensive Lophelia reef is found on vertical cliffs. The feature contains a series of ridges with high diversity of fauna including anemones, ophiuroids, crinoids, brisingids, asteroids, crabs, galatheids and hermit crabs. In some areas the echinoid Cidaris cidaris occurs in large numbers. Fish species include oreos, grenadiers, monkfish, blackbelly rosefish and black scabbard.

START VIDEO A [00:00:00]/10:55 [1] The dive starts on sand/mud with Cidaris cidaris urchins. [00:07:00] the ROV laterals left, then turns ~90° and stops. [00:08:00] continue forwards. [00:24:00] [2] increasing pebbles and gravel with mixed urchins (particularly C. cidaris, and Araeosoma fenestratum) and the burrowing Bolocera-like Actiniidae sp. (OTU41). [00:41:00] [3] clumps of boulders followed by dense cobbles and boulders host a community most obviously dominated by Pliobothrus sp. and Reteporella sp. interspersed by urchins. [00:56:00] sloping sand veneered carbonate begins, cobbles and boulders persist. [00:57:00] a carbonate ledge feature is encountered and the ROV starts traversing along it to the right. [01:04:00] ROV starts moving forward up over sloping layered broken carbonate crust. [01:05:00] [4] A small (~2m high) vertical carbonate cliff is met, colonised by an escarpment/overhang community, mainly Desmophyllum cf. dianthus and some small colonies of Lophelia pertusa. [01:06:00] the ROV starts tracking along the course of a snagged fishing line until [01:09:00] the ROV leaves the rope and continues along the vertical carbonate face. [01:18:25] [5] The carbonate is now only sparsely encrusted but coral rubble and broken framework (some fresh) can be seen at the base of cliff suggesting Lophelia pertusa colonies somewhere above. [01:26:00] [6] Discrete Lophelia pertusa colonies start appearing then become dense, along with abundant D. cf. dianthus [01:41:00] Encrusting globose porifera (OTU75) is also abundant. [01:42:00]-[01:50:00] stop for sampling L. pertusa from vertical cliff with scoop then continue traversing along. END VIDEO A 10:54.

START VIDEO B [01:56:00]/10:55. Cliff and discrete L. pertusa escarpment community continues. [02:02:00] [7] the cliff ends and more layered sloping carbonate crust with sand veneer continues with C. cidaris. [02:07:00] [8] A small cave is encountered under the carbonate. Unknown yellow anthozoans (OTU1028, possibly juvenile Paramuricea sp. , but unsure) are abundant here, yet patchy, together with C. cidaris. [02:15:00] [9] The carbonate crust and broken protrusions start to be colonised by Pliobothrus sp and Reteporella sp. Patchy occurrence of the yellow anthozoans (OTU1028, possibly juvenile Paramuricea sp . ) continues allows this to be termed more of a mixed coral community mosaicked with the Hydrozoan/Bryozoan community seen earlier. The ROV tracks along another fishing line leading to more tangled line. C. cidaris is also abundant. [02:13:00] [10] The Hydrozoan/Bryozoan community continues with sometimes abundant bushy hydrozoans (OTU50) now with broken carbonate boulders also being encountered. [02:14:00] [11] Again the Hydrozoan/Bryozoan community is mosaicked with patchy yellow anthozoans. Several more fishing lines are encountered. [02:22:00] [12] The sand deepens and cobbles of decreasing density host the Hydrozoan/Bryozoan community (which is increasingly sparse) with C. cidaris. [02:25:00] [13] C. cidaris is now the only dominant fauna and the cobbles are sparse. The ROV stops to take a pushcore and attempt to rearrange the scoop/ Lophelia sample before the END VIDEO B [02:41:00]/11:40.