A close look at a bamboo coral in the family Isididae with an associated barnacle, seen at 2,530 meters (8,300 feet) depth during Dive 01 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. Corals, as well as sponges, provide important habitat for many other animals in the deep ocean. Although associates on corals were not abundant throughout the dive, we did see organisms such as barnacles, brittle stars, squat lobsters, and anemones living in the branches of corals in order to get higher in the water column for feeding or protection.
Bamboo Coral
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts. Download larger version (jpg, 714 KB).

A close look at a bamboo coral in the family Isididae with an associated barnacle, seen at 2,530 meters (8,300 feet) depth during Dive 01 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. Corals, as well as sponges, provide important habitat for many other animals in the deep ocean. Although associates on corals were not abundant throughout the dive, we did see organisms such as barnacles, brittle stars, squat lobsters, and anemones living in the branches of corals in order to get higher in the water column for feeding or protection.

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