technical report

The purpose of this research cruise was to discover and characterize, for the first time, the extent
of mesophotic reefs along the entire coastline of Cuba, and to compare the health and
connectivity (physical, genetic and ecological) among both mesophotic and previously well-characterized
shallow reef systems in Cuba, the southeastern United States, and Gulf of Mexico
(in particular, the FGBNMS and FKNMS). Moreover, the project will directly address a
recommendation in the Report from MarCuba (2015) in which the U.S. and Cuban participants
in this project stated their intention to initiate an international collaboration.

This report summarizes the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys during four cruises from
2012 to 2015 which characterizes the mesophotic coral reef ecosystems at Pulley Ridge and
Tortugas. This research is part of a grant funded by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal
Ocean Science award NA11NOS4780045: “Connectivity of the Pulley Ridge - South Florida
Coral Reef Ecosystem”. The University of Miami ship R/V Walton Smith was used along with
the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) Super Phantom ROV and the National
Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) Mohawk ROV. The cruises were a collaboration of the
University of Miami, HBOI-CIOERT, NOAA Fisheries, and the UNCW-CIOERT Undersea
Vehicles Program.