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Last month, NOAA scientists used acoustic sonar to map several areas of the outer continental shelf edge off the coast of Florida. The team, on the latest mission of the research expedition "Extreme Corals 2011," found and explored new coral mounds north of the Oculina Bank. With the help of a remotely operated vehicle"”basically, an underwater robot"”the team determined that the nearly 100 deep-sea coral mounds are Oculina varicosa. This is a branching stony coral species that builds...
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Ivory Bush Coral, (Oculina varicosa), is a near-threatened species of coral ranging from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. The main concern for the species lies with those found off the coast of east-central Florida. It is listed as a species of concern with the US National Marine Fisheries Service, which states there is not enough information available to list it under the US Endangered Species Act. Oculina coral reefs off Florida have been...
