Researchers have found that an area off the south coast of the province is a rich marine environment supporting everything from cold water corals to marine mammals.
Isabelle Jubinville of Oceana Canada was part of a research team that included DFO scientists who explored the southern Newfoundland Slope, a deep-sea environment consisting of deep submarine canyons and channels.
Their findings were released last week.
Bubblegum coral (Paragorgia spp.) measuring 1m2, estimated at roughly 100 years old or older, on the Southern Newfoundland Slope. (© Oceana Canada / Fisheries and Oceans Canada)
She says the complex geology in the area supports a great diversity of marine life.
“We went looking for corals, and we found them,” says Jubinville, “the sea bed in this area is incredibly complex.” The area goes from “flat mud to boulders to steep rocky cliffs within a matter of a few hundred meters, and this creates intricate habitat for many, many different species.”
She calls the corals living in the region a type of “living architecture” that creates habitat for other species.
The findings will be presented at a public event in Ottawa for World Oceans Day this week, in conjunction with Canadian Geographic.
A diversity of small and large gorgonian corals, soft corals, and anemones on mixed substrate of mud and small rocks. (© Oceana Canada / Fisheries and Oceans Canada)
