2. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Fla. on Oculina.
DWH Oil Effects on Deepwater Benthos Sandra Brooke, Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI), Seattle, Wa.
Sandra Brooke got her PhD in a joint program between U.Southampton, UK and
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Fla. on Oculina.
She has worked on deepwater corals off Oregon and the Aleutians as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

3. Example of GoM deepwater corals: Lophelia thickets

4. Example of GoM deepwater gorgonian Keatoisis flexibilis

5. Example of GoM deepwater sponge Aphrocallistes

6. Example of Alaska deepwater hydrocorals (Bob Stone, NMFS AK)

7. Example of Alaska deepwater benthos (Bob Stone NMFS AK)

8. Issues w GoM deepwater benthos
First, you need for data on “Where are they?” – need good mapping with multibeam with results in GIS-referenced and usable format to begin biology studies
Second, with some habitat maps you can begin to do habitat models re productivity & protection
Third, you can use maps to begin studies of community associations, biodiversity and habitat use
Fourth, from maps, models and data can begin to identify risk priority areas and data gaps

9. Issues w GoM deepwater benthos, relevant to Alaska
Big data gap was historical baseline data
Another big data gap for GoM was effect of spill on primary productivity and subsequent effect on benthos
Finally, lab experiments on sensitivity of different species to oil and dispersant are relatively cheap and easy to do, but were not and have not been done: another data gap.

10. Issues w GoM deepwater benthos, relevant to Alaska
Data on both shelf and deepwater benthic habitats along North Slope is extremely limited: high resolution multibeam mapping is needed
After multibeam mapping is completed, video transect mapping of benthic habitats is needed by ROV or AUV
Habitat use studies can then begin
Habitat risk modeling of priority areas can then be done
Alaska has fewer deepwater corals and more sponges, hydrocorals and gorgonians, for which lab studies of sensitivity to oil and dispersants are needed
Historical baseline data is essential in advance of a spill, and largely does not exist for North Slope habitats