Funk Island Expedition 2025

Abstract

In 2024, a densely populated soft coral garden was discovered on steep seabed features within the Funk Island Marine Refuge. This soft coral garden is structured by habitat-forming species in densities not previously known for the region or reported in the literature. Other groups of cold-water corals are known as important habitat-forming species, but the potential roles of soft corals as habitat-forming species when occurring in as high densities as around Funk Island have not yet been investigated (e.g. as a potential nursery ground for other species). This habitat is likely vulnerable to climate change and ocean acidification; therefore, we need to employ non-invasive tools to monitor both its extent as well as its health. The resolution of bathymetry maps has a significant influence on our ability to understand complex habitats, with fine-scale ship-based acoustic maps only able to resolve the scale that captures the complexity associated with seabed features suitable for the potential establishment of soft-coral gardens. Likely targets can then be ground-truthed using benthic imagery. From this imagery, species densities and community composition can be determined, but usually these represent snapshots within discontinuous areas of habitat. With recent technological advances such as stereo vision and new computational algorithms (e.g. Simultaneous Localization And Mapping; SLAM), high-resolution, full coverage three-dimensional maps of the benthic environment can be produced to examine and use to explore the links between spatial patterns of habitat complexity and species biodiversity.