A dataset of cold-water coral distribution records

Species distribution data are key for monitoring present and future biodiversity patterns and informing conservation and management strategies. Large biodiversity information facilities often contain spatial and taxonomic errors that reduce the quality of the provided data. Moreover, datasets are frequently shared in varying formats, inhibiting proper integration and interoperability. Here, we provide a qualitycontrolled dataset of the diversity and distribution of coldwater corals, which provide key ecosystem services and are considered vulnerable to human activities and climate change effects. We use the common term cold-water corals to refer to species of the orders Alcyonacea, Antipatharia, Pennatulacea, Scleractinia, Zoantharia of the subphylum Anthozoa, and order Anthoathecata of the class Hydrozoa. Distribution records were collated from multiple sources, standardized using the Darwin Core Standard, dereplicated, taxonomically corrected and flagged for potential vertical and geographic distribution errors based on peer-reviewed published literature and expert consulting. This resulted in 817,559 quality-controlled records of 1,170 accepted species of cold-water corals, openly available under the FAIR principle of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability of data. The dataset represents the most updated baseline for the global cold-water coral diversity, and it can be used by the broad scientific community to provide insights into biodiversity patterns and their drivers, identify regions of high biodiversity and endemicity, and project potential re-distribution under future climate change. It can also be used by managers and stakeholders to guide biodiversity conser-vation and prioritization actions against biodiversity loss. (c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Automated summary

Species distribution data are crucial for monitoring biodiversity patterns and guiding conservation strategies. This study provides a quality-controlled dataset of cold-water coral diversity and distribution, which can be used by the scientific community to study biodiversity patterns and drivers, as well as by managers to guide conservation actions. The dataset represents the most up-to-date baseline for global cold-water coral diversity.