Discovering deep-sea coral reefs in the Galapagos

Dr Michelle Taylor reflects on the moment she discovered ancient deep-sea coral reefs in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.
Dr Taylor, from the School of Life Sciences, was the first to record the discovery from within a submersible with Dr Stuart Banks from the Charles Darwin Foundation, in Ecuador.
This exciting discovery is the first of its kind ever to be documented inside the marine protected area (MPA) since the reserve was established in 1998.
The Galápagos Deep 2023 expedition included scientists at Boise State University (USA) and the University of Essex and University of Bristol (UK), in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park Directorate, Charles Darwin Foundation, and Ecuadorian Navy’s Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute (INOCAR). The expedition was funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) in the UK.
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