REVISTA DE INVESTIGACIONES MARINAS http://www.cim.uh.cu/rim/ Centro de Investigaciones Marinas Universidad de La Habana revista de investigaciones marinas ARTÍCULO ORIGINAL CUBA’S MESOPHOTIC CORAL REEFS AND ASSOCIATED FISH COMMUNITIES Arrecifes de coral mesofóticos de Cuba y comunidades de peces asociadas John K. Reed 1 , Patricia González-Díaz 2 , Linnet Busutil 3 , Stephanie Farrington 1 , Beatriz Martínez- Daranas 2 , Dorka Cobián Rojas 4 , Joshua Voss 1 , Cristina Diaz 1 , Andrew David 5 , M. Dennis Hanisak 1 , Juliett González Mendez 6 , Alain García Rodríguez 3 , Patricia M. González- Sánchez 7 , Jorge Viamontes Fernández 8 , Daniel Estrada Pérez 8 , Michael Studivan 1 , Felicia Drummond 5 , Mingshun Jiang 1 , Shirley A. Pomponi 1 1 'Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA 2 Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, Cuba 3 Instituto de Ciencias del Mar, La Habana, Cuba 4 ECOVIDA-Sistema Nacional de Areas Protegidas, Pinar del Río Province, Cuba 5 NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Panama City, Florida, USA 6 Centro Nacional de Áreas Protegidas, La Habana, Cuba 7 Acuario Nacional de Cuba, La Habana, Cuba 8 Geocuba Estudios Marinos, La Habana, Cuba * Autor para correspondencia: jreed12@fau.edu Recibido: 31.01.2017 Aceptado: 21.06.2018 ABSTRACT A joint Cuba-U.S. expedition was conducted May 14-June 12, 2017 to characterize for the frst time the extent and health of mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) along the entire coastline of Cuba. Remote- ly Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives at 36 sites confrmed the presence of MCE habitat along all coasts of Cuba. ROV dives covered 27 km, at depths of 25-188 m, and documented habitat and species with 103 hours of high-defnition video and 21,146 digital images. A total of 477 taxa of benthic macrobiota and 178 fsh taxa were identifed, and 343 specimens of benthic invertebrates and algae were collected to verify taxonomy and assess population genetic structure. The pri- mary geomorphological features were the Deep Island Slope (125- >150 m), Deep Fore-Reef Escarpment (the ‘Wall’, 50-125 m), and Deep Fore-Reef Slope (30-50 m). Most vertical surfaces of the Wall were covered with dense sponges, algae, octocorals, and black corals. Agaricia was the most abundant scleractinian genus on the Wall at depths of 50-75 m, and was observed to 122 m. Of the 2,240 sclerac- tinian colonies that were counted in this study, only 12 corals (0.53%, mainly Agaricia spp.) showed signs of bleaching, and one Agaricia had black band disease, comprising remarkably low disease preva- lence. The most frequently recorded sponge genera were Xestospon- gia, Aplysina, and Agelas. At least 10 previously unknown sponge species were collected during the expedition. Sites outside of marine protected areas generally had lower fsh abundances, a possible in- dicator of historical overfshing. Lionfsh were observed at most sites but abundances were low compared to other Caribbean regions. KEy wORDS: Cuba, mesophotic reef, geomorphology, biozonation, biodi - versity. REVISTA DE INVESTIGACIONES MARINAS RNPS: 2096 • ISSN: 1991-6086• VOL. 38 • No. 1 • ENERO-JUNIO • 2018 • pp. 56-125