Characterization of the Mesophotic Benthic Habitat and Fish Assemblages from ROV Dives on Pulley Ridge and Tortugas during 2014 R/V Walton Smith Cruise

Three research cruises were conducted in 2012, 2013 and 2014 to the region of Pulley Ridge and Dry Tortugas to study and survey the mesophotic reef communities and fish populations. Pulley Ridge is the deepest known photosynthetic coral reef in continental U.S. waters and is located in the Gulf of Mexico, 100 miles west of the Dry Tortugas at the far end of the Florida Keys. In 2014, cruise WS1412 was conducted August 14-28. This 2014 Cruise Report provides a detailed SEADESC II characterization of the benthic habitat, benthic macrobiota, and fish populations for each ROV dive site surveyed in 2014 with the Mohawk ROV. Appendix 1 provides a complete species list and percent cover of benthic biota and substrate for each site at Pulley Ridge (PR) and Tortugas (T). Appendix 2 provides the densities of the fish species for each site. Appendix 3 provides the metadata for each ROV dive, multibeam maps with overlay of ROV tracks, images characterizing each site, along with detailed descriptions of each dive site.