Table 1.

Brief description of visual sequences where deep-water coral gardens were observed in the NW South China Sea.

Dive	Transect number	Water depth	Length	Bamboo corals		Sea fan corals				total corals
				Lepidisis sp.		Anthogorgia sp.		Calyptrophora sp.
		(m)	(m)	n	colonies/100 m2	n	colonies/100 m2	n	colonies/100 m2	n	colonies/100 m2
SY067	1	1374.9	28.4	50	29.3					50	29.3
	2	1369.3	32.8	54	27.4	6	3.0			60	30.5
	3	1354.4	13	28	35.9					28	35.9
	4	1343.8	48.4	71	24.4					71	24.4
	5	1332.7	25.4	88	57.7	2	1.3			90	59.1
	6	1283.6	39	67	57.3					67	57.3
	7	1239.2	40	47	39.2	23	19.2	35	29.2	105	87.5
	8	1222	30.4	79	86.6	12	13.2	3	3.3	94	103.1
SY076	9	1212.5	13.8	24	69.6	13	37.7			37	107.2
	10	1201.8	18	74	117.5	10	15.9			84	133.3
	11	1215.5	45	103	76.3	76	56.3	13	9.6	192	142.2
	12	1199.1	43	119	69.2	234	136.0	35	20.3	388	225.6
	13	1347.2	18.4	25	34.0			2	2.7	27	36.7
	14	1331.8	40.4	124	76.7			1	0.6	125	77.4