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. 2016 Oct 28;11(10):e0165513. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165513

Fig 3. Representative photographs of the nine Cobb Seamount communities.

Fig 3

(1) The hard substrate of the pinnacle carpeted in epifauna, including Desmarestia viridis macroalgae and Mesocentrotus franciscanus sea urchins. (2) Shallow, hard substrates with dense assemblages of Florometra serratissima crinoids on encrusting Corallinales spp. algae and Halichondria panicea sponge. (3) Hard substrates with a mix of Corallinales spp. and Stylaster spp. hydrocorals, supporting a rich assemblage of Sebastes spp. rockfishes. (4) Bare, hard substrate with small patches of the Laqueus californianus lamp shells and schools of the large Sebastes and S. melanostictus rockfishes (indistinguishable from images; recorded as one taxon). (5) A mix of hard and fine substrates, both covered in Stylaster spp. (living corals on hard, dead pieces and rubble on sand). (6) The flat, sandy edge of the seamount summit, with patches of Ophiura sarsii and Asteronyx loveni brittle stars, and Pagurus kennerlyi hermit crabs. (7) Sand and gravel on the seamount flanks, with sparse Actiniaria sp. anemones and Sebastolobus spp. thornyheads. (8) Exposed hard substrate on the deep flanks, with high-density Alcyonacea corals (e.g., Paragorgia sp.) and Hexactinellida sponges (e.g., Pinulasma fistulosoma). (9) Deep bedrock and gravel supporting a variety of Antipatharia spp. corals (e.g., Lillipathes cf lillei and Bathypathes sp.). Photo credit: DFO Pacific Biological Station ROV team, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center AUV team.