John K. Reed

Pulley Ridge, located in the Gulf of Mexico, lies about 250 km west of the Florida coast and extends from north to south along the southwestern Florida platform at depths of 60–90 m for nearly 300 km (Figure 1; Hine et al. 2008). Only the southernmost 34 km of Pulley Ridge, referred to as southern Pulley Ridge, supports MCEs (Figure 2; Cross et al. 2005, Reed et al. 2014, 2015). Southern Pulley Ridge is about 160 km2 in size (Cross et al. 2005, Culter et al. 2006) with 10 m relief and represents a drowned barrier island from the last glacial period. Pulley Ridge is the deepest known light- dependent coral reef ecosystem off the continental United States (Halley et al. 2003).

Reed JK. 2016. Chapter 3.3. Pulley Ridge, Gulf of Mexico, USA. In: Baker EK, Puglise KA, Harris PT, editors. Mesophotic coral ecosystems – A lifeboat for coral reefs? The United Nations Environment Programme and GRID-Arendal, Nairobi and Arendal. p. 23-25.

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