White coral communities consist of scleractinian corals that thrive in the ocean’s bathyal depths (~ 200–4000 m). In the Atlantic Ocean, white corals are known to form complex, three-dimensional structures on the seabed that attract vast amounts of other organisms, accumulate suspended detritus, and influence the local hydrodynamic flow field. These attributes coincide with what we generally describe as a coral reef. With time, environmental change causes decline of the framework-constructing corals; this is followed by erosion of the reef sequence or its draping with noncoral-related deposits. After several such sequences, the structures are known as coral carbonate mounds, which can grow as high as 350 m. Both bathyal white coral reefs and mounds are widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent marginal seas, such as the Gulf of Mexico. The Mediterranean Sea, however, known for its richness of fossil white coral communities exposed in land outcrops, harbors very few extant coral communities. The HERMES project extended its study sites deep into the Mediterranean with state-of-the-art mapping and visualization technology. By doing so, many previously unknown coral sites were discovered during inspections of Mediterranean narrow shelves, canyon walls, escarpments, and seamounts by remotely operated vehicles. Such shelf and continental margin settings are characteristic of the dynamic margins of the Mediterranean Sea and contrast significantly with the much broader shelves of the Atlantic Ocean. This paper reports on a HERMES cruise that was dedicated to exploring these rough submarine topographies in search of white coral communities in the central Mediterranean, and re-evaluates the general perception of the assumed paucity of white corals in this sea.

Freiwald, A., L. Beuck, A. Rüggeberg, M. Taviani, D. Hebbeln, and R/V Meteor Cruise M70-1 Participants. 2009. The white coral community in the central Mediterranean Sea revealed by ROV surveys. Oceanography 22(1):58–74, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2009.06.

Álvarez-Pérez, G., P. Busquets, B. De Mol, N.G. Sandoval, M. Canals, and J.L. Casamor. 2005. Deep-water coral occurrences in the Strait of Gibraltar. Pp. 207–221 in Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems. A. Freiwald and J.M. Roberts, eds, Springer, Heidelberg.
1. Astraldi, M., G.P. Gasparini, A. Vetrano, and S. Vignudelli. 2002. Hydrographic characteristics and interannual variability of water masses in the central Mediterranean: A sensitivity test for long-term changes in the Mediterranean Sea. Deep-Sea Research Part I 49:661–680.
2. Balopoulos, E.T., A. Theocharis, H. Kontoyiannis, S. Varnavas, F. Voutsinou-Taliadouri, A. Iona, A. Souvermezoglou, L. Ignatiades, O. Gotsis-Skretas, and A. Pavlidou. 1999. Major advances in the oceanography of the southern Aegean Sea-Cretan Straits system (eastern Mediterranean). Progress in Oceanography 44:109–130.
3. Bombace, G., and C. Froglia. 1972. Premières remarques sur les peuplements de l’étage bathyal de la Basse Adriatique. Revue des Travaux de l’Institut des Peches Maritimes 37:159–161.
4. Bourcier, M., and H. Zibrowius. 1973. Les “boues rouges” déversées dans le canyon de la Cassidaigne (région de mareseille). Observations en soucoupe plongeante SP 350 (juin 1971) et résultats de dragages. Tethys 4:811–842.
5. Canals, M., P. Puig, X. Durrieu de Madron, S. Heussner, A. Palanques, and J. Fabres. 2006. Flushing submarine canyons. Nature 444:354–357.
6. Civile, D., E. Lodolo, L. Tortorici, G. Lanzafame, and G. Brancolini. 2008. Relationships between magmatism and tectonics in a continental rift: The Pantelleria Island region (Sicily Channel, Italy). Marine Geology 251:32–46.
7. Cushman-Roisin, B., M. Gacic, P.-M. Poulain, and A. Artegiani. 2001. Physical Oceanography of the Adriatic Sea: Past, Present and Future. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 304 pp.
8. Davies, A.J., M. Wisshak, J.C. Orr, and J.M. Roberts. 2008. Predicting suitable habitat for the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa (Scleractinia). Deep-Sea Research Part I 55:1,048–1,062.
9. Delibrias, G., and M. Taviani. 1985. Dating the death of Mediterranean deep-sea scleractinian corals. Marine Geology 62:175–180.
10. Dodds, L.A., J.M. Roberts, A.C. Taylor, and F. Marubini. 2007. Metabolic tolerance of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa (Scleractinia) to temperature and dissolved oxygen change. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 349:205–214.
11. Finetti, I.R., and A. Del Ben. 2005. Crustal tectono-stratigraphic setting of the Pelagian Foreland from new CROP seismic data. Pp. 581–595 in CORP Project: Deep Seismic Exploration of the Central Mediterranean and Italy. I.R. Finetti, ed., Elsevier, Amsterdam.
12. Försterra, G., L. Beuck, V. Häussermann, and A. Freiwald. 2005. Shallow-water Desmophyllum dianthus (Scleractinia) from Chile: Characteristics of the biocoenoses, the bioeroding community, heterotrophic interactions and (paleo)-bathymetric implications. Pp. 937–977 in Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems. A. Freiwald and J.M. Roberts, eds, Springer, Heidelberg.
13. Freiwald, A., and Shipboard Party. In press. R/V Meteor Cruise M70, Mediterranean Sea 2006, Leg 1: Deep-water coral ecosystems in the central Mediterranean Sea, La Valletta-Heraklion. Meteor-Forschungsberichte.
14. Fusi, N., A. Savini, and C. Corselli. 2006. Evidence of mud diapirism and coral colonies in the Ionian Sea (Central Mediterranean) from high-resolution chirp sonar survey. Annals of Geophysics 49:751–765.
15. Joubin, M.L. 1922. Les coraux de mer profonde nuisibles aux chalutiers. Office Scientifique et Technique des Peches Maritimes, Notes et Mémoires 18:5–16.
16. Krijgsman, W., F.J. Hilgen, I. Raffi, F.J. Sierro, and D.S. Wilson. 1999. Chronology, causes and progression of the Messinian salinity crisis. Nature 400:652–655.
17. Lascaratos, A., W. Roether, K. Nittis, and B. Klein. 1999. Recent changes in deep water formation and spreading in the eastern Mediterranean Sea: A review. Progress in Oceanography 44:5–36.
18. Le Danois, E. 1948. Les Profondeurs de la Mer. Payot, Paris, 303 pp.
19. Longo, C., F. Mastrototaro, and G. Corriero. 2005. Sponge fauna associated with a Mediterranean deep-sea coral bank. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 85:1,341–1,352.
20. Lykousis, V. 2001. Subaqueous bedforms on the Cyclades Plateau (NE-Mediterranean)—Evidence of Cretan deep water formation? Continental Shelf Research 21:495–507.
21. Maldonado, A., and D.J. Stanley. 1977. Lithofacies as a function of depth in the Strait of Sicily. Geology 5:111–117.
22. Manca, B.B., V. Kovacevic, M. Gacic, and D. Viezzoli. 2002. Dense water formation in the southern Adriatic Sea and spreading into the Ionian Sea in the period 1997–1999. Journal of Marine Systems 33-34:133–154.
23. Merlini, S., G. Cantarella, and C. Doglioni. 2000. On the seismic profile CROP M5 in the Ionian Sea. Bolletino della Società Geologica Italiana 119:227–236.
24. Millot, C. 2005. Circulation in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidences, debates and unanswered questions. Scientia Marina 69 (suppl. 1):5–21.
25. Millot, C., and I. Taupier-Letage. 2005. Circulation in the Mediterranean Sea. Pp. 29–66 in The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, Vol. 5K, Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg.
26. Noé, S., J. Titschack, A. Freiwald, and W.-C. Dullo. 2006. From sediment to rock: Diagenetic processes of hardground formation in deep-water carbonate mounds of the NE Atlantic. Facies 52:183–208.
27. Orejas, C., A. Gori, and J.-M. Gili. 2008. Growth rates of live Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata from the Mediterranean Sea maintained in aquaria. Coral Reefs 27:255.
28. Pérès, J.M., and J. Picard. 1964. Nouveau manuel de bionomie benthique de la Mer Méditerranee. Recueil des Travaux de la Station Marine d’Endoume 31:5–137.
29. Reveillaud, J., A. Freiwald, D. Van Rooij, E. Le Guilloux, A. Altuna, A. Foubert, A. Vanreusel, K. Olu-Le Roy, and J.-P. Henriet. 2008. The distribution of scleractinian corals in the Bay of Biscay, NE Atlantic. Facies 54:317–331.
30. Ricci Lucchi, F. 1986. The Oligocene to Recent foreland basin of the Northern Apennines. IAS Special Publications 8:105–139.
31. Ridente, D., F. Foglini, D. Minisini, F. Trincardi, and G. Verdicchio. 2007. Shelf-edge erosion, sediment failure and inception of Bari Canyon on the southwestern Adriatic Margin (Central Mediterranean). Marine Geology 246:193–207.
32. Roberts, J.M., A.J. Wheeler, and A. Freiwald. 2006. Reefs of the deep: The biology and geology of cold-water coral ecosystems. Science 312:543–547.
33. Rüggeberg, A., W.-C. Dullo, B. Dorschel, and D. Hebbeln. 2007. Environmental changes and growth history of a cold-water carbonate mound (Propeller Mound, Porcupine Seabight). International Journal of Earth Sciences 96:57–72.
34. Schembri, P.J., M. Dimech, and M. Camilleri. 2007. Living deep-water Lophelia and Madrepora corals in Maltese waters (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea). Cahiers de Biologie Marine 48:77–83.
35. Schönberg, C.H.L., and L. Beuck. 2007. Where Topsent went wrong: Aka infesta a.k.a. Aka labyrinthica (Demospongiae: Phloeodictyidae) and implications for other Aka spp. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87:1,459–1,476.
36. Taviani, M. 2002. The Mediterranean benthos from Late Miocene up to present: Ten million years of dramatic climatic and geologic vicissitudes. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 9:445–463.
37. Taviani, M., A. Freiwald, and H. Zibrowius. 2005a. Deep coral growth in the Mediterranean Sea: An overview. Pp 137–156 in Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems. A. Freiwald and J.M. Roberts, eds, Springer, Heidelberg.
38. Taviani, M., A. Remia, C. Corselli, A. Freiwald, E. Malinverno, F. Mastrototaro, A. Savini, and A. Tursi. 2005b. First geo-marine survey of living cold-water Lophelia reefs in the Ionian Sea (Mediterranean basin). Facies 50:409–417.
39. Titschack, J., R.G. Bromley, and A. Freiwald. 2005. Plio-Pleistocene cliff-bound, wedge-shaped, warm-temperate carbonate deposits from Rhodes (Greece): Sedimentology and facies. Sedimentary Geology 180:29–56.
40. Titschack, J., and A. Freiwald. 2005. Growth, deposition, and facies of Pleistocene bathyal coral communities from Rhodes, Greece. Pp 41–59 in Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems. A. Freiwald and J.M. Roberts, eds, Springer, Heidelberg.
41. Trincardi, F., F. Foglini, G. Verdicchio, A. Asioli, A. Correggiari, D. Minisini, A. Piva, A. Remia, D. Ridente, and M. Taviani. 2007. The impact of cascading currents on the Bari Canyon System, SW-Adriatic Margin (Central Mediterranean). Marine Geology 246:208–230.
42. Tunesi, L., G. Diviacco, and G. Mo. 2001. Observations by submersible on the biocoenosis of the deep-sea corals off Portofino promontory (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea). Pp. 76–87 in Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals. J.H.M. Willison, J. Hall, S. Gass, E.L.R. Kenchington, M. Butler, and P. Doherty, eds, Ecology Action Centre and Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax.
43. Tursi, A., F. Mastrototaro, A. Matarrese, P. Maiorano, and G. D’Onghia. 2004. Biodiversity of the white coral reefs in the Ionian Sea (Central Mediterranean). Chemistry and Ecology 20(suppl.):S107–S116.
44. Vafidis, D., A. Koukouras, and E. Voultsiadou-Koukoura. 1997. Actinaria, Corallimorpharia, and Scleractinia (Hexacorallia, Anthozoa) of the Aegean Sea, with a checklist of the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea species. Israel Journal of Zoology 43:55–70.
45. Verdicchio, G., and F. Trincardi. 2006. Short-distance variability in slope bed-forms along the southwestern Adriatic Margin (Central Mediterranean). Marine Geology 234:271–292.
46. Verdicchio, G., F. Trincardi, and A. Asioli. 2007. Mediterranean bottom-current deposits: An example from the southwestern Adriatic margin. Geological Society of London Special Publications 276:199–224.
47. Vilibic, I., and M. Orlic. 2002. Adriatic water masses, their rates of formation and transport through the Otranto Strait. Deep-Sea Research Part I 49:1,321–1,340.
48. Wheeler, A.J., A. Beyer, A. Freiwald, H. de Haas, V.A.I. Huvenne, M. Kozachenko, K. Olu-Le Roy, and J. Opderbecke. 2007. Morphology and environment of cold-water coral carbonate mounds on the NE European margin. International Journal of Earth Sciences 96:37–57.
49. Wisshak, M., M. López Correa, S. Gofas, C. Salas, M. Taviani, J. Jakobsen, and A. Freiwald. In press. Shell architecture, element composition, and stable isotope signature of the giant deep-sea oyster Neopycnodonte zibrowii sp.n. from the NE Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research Part I.
50. Yakimov, M.M., S. Cappello, E. Crisafi, A. Tursi, A. Savini, C. Corselli, S. Scarfi, and L. Giuliano. 2006. Phylogenetic survey of metabolically active microbial communities associated with the deep-sea coral Lophelia pertusa from the Apulian plateau, central Mediterranean Sea. Deep-Sea Research Part I 53:62–75.
51. Zibrowius, H. 1980. Les Scléractiniaires de la Méditerranée et de l’Atlantique nord-oriental. Memoirs de l’Institut Oceanographique, Monaco 11:1–227.
52. Zibrowius, H. 2003. The “White Coral Community”, Canyon and Seamount Faunas of the deep Mediterranean Sea. Project Report for the preparation of a Strategic Action Plan for the Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean Region (SAP BIO), 39 pp.
53. Zibrowius, H., and M. Taviani. 2005. Remarkable sessile fauna associated with deep coral and other calcareous substrates in the Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea. Pp. 807–819 in Cold-Water Corals and Ecosystems. A. Freiwald and J.M. Roberts, eds, Springer, Heidelberg.
54. Zupanovic, S. 1969. Prilog izucavanju bentoske faune Jabucke kotline. Thallassia Jugoslavica 5:477–493.

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.