Temperature tolerance of the deep-sea coral Lophelia pertusa from the southeastern United States

Water temperature may be a primary exogenous determinant of deep-sea coral distributions. The upper thermal threshold for survival of the deep-water coral Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758) is generally accepted to be ~12–14 °C, based on field observations of coral distributions. However, hydrographic conditions over coral mounds are dynamic on various scales, often producing temperature fluctuations of unpredictable duration and magnitude. This...