Located 80 miles south-west of Monterey, the Davidson Seamount is an impressive geologic feature with potentially significant resource management needs. Davidson Seamount is geologically young but has remarkable biological communities, including large, dense patches of sponges and apparently extremely old coral forests, with individuals commonly reaching more than 3 m in height. Rare species, such as the black-footed albatross and the federally listed endangered sperm whales, have been sighted at the seamount. Seamounts provide structure for animals to live on, and the structure creates oceanographic effects that promote the production of food. Many of these deep-sea animals, such as gorgonians, mushroom corals, and sponges, spend their entire lives permanently attached to rocks, and therefore depend on ocean currents to bring their food to them. A seamount, by rising from the seafloor, has strong currents that frequently run over it, providing the animals living along its flanks with a constant supply of planktonic food. These same currents also produce localized upwelling of water around the seamount. Nutrients like nitrates and phosphates, which are critical to the growth of phytoplankton, are then lifted from deepwater to the sunlit surface waters. These nutrients fuel a surge of planktonic plant and animal growth, and attract larger animals such as whales, sharks, tunas, and seabirds to a veritable feast. The settlement of larvae from distant geographical areas in addition to the other biological interactions make the Davidson Seamount a significant "hot spot" of biodiversity.