California Sea Grant College Program

In September 2009 we surveyed the deep habitats and fish assemblages of Las Gemelas seamounts and Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, as part of the National Geographic expedition. We conducted four submarine dives at the Las Gemelas seamounts and 18 dives around Isla del Coco, using a combination of quantitative video transects and general observations to characterize fish communities at each study site. We surveyed habitats in depths ranging from 50 – 402 m, but are reporting only the data obtained from dives in rocky habitats that were deeper than 150 m, to facilitate a comparison of deepwater communities at Las Gemelas seamounts and Isla del Coco.