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        <img src="/okeanos/explorations/okeanos-beyond-the-blue/ex2503/media/dive16-coral-sponge-800.jpg" alt="Underwater scene showing rocky terrain and marine life." />
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        <div class="cbp-l-inline-title">Coral and Sponge Community</div>
        <div class="cbp-l-inline-subtitle"><i>Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue.</i> <a href="/okeanos/explorations/okeanos-beyond-the-blue/ex2503/media/dive16-coral-sponge.jpg" download target="_blank">Download larger version (jpg, 1.15 MB).</a></div>
        <div class="cbp-l-inline-desc">Papahānaumokuākea ROV and Mapping expedition Dive 16 began in a high-density and high-diversity coral and sponge community that included numerous species of <i>Chrysogorgia</i>, <i>Hemicorallium</i>, and bamboo corals; <i>Poliopogon</i>, <i>Stelodoryx</i>, <i>Farrea</i>, and <i>Bolosoma</i> sponges; and a variety of smaller associates, including brittle stars, squat lobsters, mollusks, foraminifera, hydroids, and many other taxa. Throughout the dive, we observed rapid transitions between high-density, high-diversity communities to sparse, low-diversity communities that appeared to correlate with changes in seafloor geology and/or current strength.</p></div>
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