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Recruitment: The addition of new individuals to a population.

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV): An unmanned submersible connected to the research vessel by a cable, often used to carry imaging systems and sample collectors.

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Salinity: The concentration of dissolved salts in water, usually measured in parts per thousand.

Scleractinians: Corals which have a hard limestone skeleton and belong to the order Scleractinia.

Seamount: Peaks of undersea mounds which can extend several hundred metres above the sea bottom, often capped with corals (known as carbonate mounds).

Sediment: Particles of organic or inorganic matter that accumulates in loose form on the seabed.

Soft coral: General term for anthozoan coral without a hard skeleton.

Solitary corals: Corals composed of a single individual polyp.

Storm wave base: The plane or maximum depth at which surface driven waves may impact the sea bottom during severe storms.

Stylasterids: Corals of the family Stylasteridae, including lace corals.

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Temperate: Pertaining to the latitudinal belt between 23° 27’ and 66° 33’ north or south latitude, geographical regions with milder conditions than the poles and the equator.

Thermocline: A depth at which the temperature of the water changes significantly.

Trophic level: A nourishment level in a food chain. Plant producers constitute the lowest level, followed by herbivores and a series of carnivores at the higher levels.