Biomass and secondary production of the temperate gorgonian coral Eunicella cavolini (Coelenterata:Octocorallia)

Mg, Weinbauer; Velimirov, Branko

doi:10.3354/meps121211

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The collected apical branches were maintained in continuously renewed seawater without exposing them to air during the transplant operations, which lasted a few hours on the boat. The simulated density of gorgonians was comparable to the maximum values observed in natural patches in terms of abundance (190 colonies m −2 ) for Eunicella cavolinii [24] and biomass for Paramuricea clavata [6]. Sets of four panels were arranged in plots (Fig.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 60%

Ecological Shifts in Mediterranean Coralligenous Assemblages Related to Gorgonian Forest Loss

et al. 2014

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Mediterranean gorgonian forests are threatened by several human activities and are affected by climatic anomalies that have led to mass mortality events in recent decades. The ecological role of these habitats and the possible consequence of their loss are poorly understood. Effects of gorgonians on the recruitment of epibenthic organisms were investigated by manipulating presence of gorgonians on experimental panels at 24 m depth, for Eunicella cavolinii, and at 40 m depth, for Paramuricea clavata, at two sites: Tavolara Island (Tyrrhenian Sea) and Portofino Promontory (Ligurian Sea). After 4 months, the most abundant taxa on the panels were encrusting green algae, erect red algae and crustose coralline algae at 24 m depth and encrusting brown algae and erect red algae at 40 m depth. Assemblages on the panels were significantly affected by the presence of the gorgonians, although effects varied across sites and between gorgonian species. Species diversity and evenness were lower on panels with gorgonian branches. Growth of erect algae and recruitment of serpulid polychaetes were also affected by the presence of the gorgonians, primarily at Tavolara. Crustose coralline algae and erect sponges were more abundant on E. cavolinii panels at 24 m depth, while encrusting bryozoans were more abundant on P. clavata panels at 40 m depth. Effects of gorgonians on recruited assemblages could be due to microscale modification of hydrodynamics and sediment deposition rate, or by a shading effect reducing light intensity. Gorgonians may also intercept settling propagules, compete for food with the filter-feeders and/or for space by producing allelochemicals. Presence of gorgonians mainly limits the growth of erect algae and enhances the abundance of encrusting algae and sessile invertebrates. Therefore, the gorgonian disappearances may cause a shift from assemblages characterised by crustose coralline algae to filamentous algae assemblages, decreasing complexity and resilience of coralligenous bioconstructions.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 60%

Ecological Shifts in Mediterranean Coralligenous Assemblages Related to Gorgonian Forest Loss

et al. 2014

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“…Small colonies of P. clavata were less affected and recovered faster. Possible explanations for the greater resilience of small colonies have been proposed: a lower metabolism and a P/B ratio that decreases with age (Coma et al, 1994;Mistri and Ceccherelli, 1994;Weinbauer and Velimirov, 1995) and reproductive effort that increases with colony size (Coma et al, 1995). Moreover, Dube et al (2002) demonstrated that small sea-fans are more chemically defensive than large sea-fans when attacked by pathogens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gorgonian population recovery after a mass mortality event

Cerrano

Arillo

Azzini

et al. 2005

Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst.

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ABSTRACT1. Mass mortality events are becoming more common all over the world, both in tropical and temperate seas. An extensive mortality occurred in the Mediterranean Sea in 1999, affecting many benthic species, mainly sponges and gorgonians.2. The recovery of a population of the sea fan Paramuricea clavata, for a period of 3 yr, from 1999 to 2002, was studied by both line transects and fixed frames. The average size of the colonies decreased, indicating a size-dependent mortality episode, but their density, as a result of successful recruitment, was not altered after 3 yr.3. P. clavata showed three recovery patterns: (i) sexual reproduction, (ii) coenenchyme regeneration and (iii) fragmentation of affected branches. Moreover, the growth rates of small colonies varied in the different years. The sex ratio of the population was also altered, with females being more affected than males; the population studied showed a significant male bias (3.3:1, n ¼ 150), varying greatly from the typical sex ratio (1:1) previously recorded in the same population before the mass mortality event.

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“…The diversity and richness of the habitats they form are often compared to those of tropical coral reefs (Ballesteros 2006). Gorgonians can develop very dense populations (Weinbauer & Velimirov 1995) and therefore play an important role as ecosystem engineers (Jones et al 1994) by providing biomass and structural complexity (Harmelin 1995). They are also important drivers of energy and matter from the planktonic to the benthic ecosystem (Gili & Coma 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacteria of the genus Endozoicomonas dominate the microbiome of the Mediterranean gorgonian coral Eunicella cavolini

Bayer

Arif

Ferrier‐Pagés

et al. 2013

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

114

108

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Forming dense beds that provide the structural basis of a distinct ecosystem, the gorgonian Eunicella cavolini (Octocorallia) is an important species in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the importance and prevalence of this temperate gorgonian, little is known about its microbial assemblage, although bacteria are well known to be important to hard and soft coral functioning. Here, we used massively parallel pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes to determine the composition and relative abundances of bacteria associated with E. cavolini collected from different depths at a site on the French Mediterranean coast. We found that whereas the bacterial assemblages of E. cavolini were distinct and less diverse than those of the surrounding water column, the water depth did not affect the bacterial assemblages of this gorgonian. Our data show that E. cavolini's microbiome contains only a few shared species and that it is highly dominated by bacteria from the genus Endozoicomonas, a Gammaproteobacteria that is frequently found to associate with marine invertebrates. KEY WORDS: Microbial communities · Gorgonian · Eunicella cavolini · 16S tag sequencingResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher FREE REE ACCESS CCESS

show abstract

Biomass and secondary production of the temperate gorgonian coral Eunicella cavolini (Coelenterata:Octocorallia)

Cited by 19 publications

References 12 publications

Ecological Shifts in Mediterranean Coralligenous Assemblages Related to Gorgonian Forest Loss

Ecological Shifts in Mediterranean Coralligenous Assemblages Related to Gorgonian Forest Loss

Gorgonian population recovery after a mass mortality event

Bacteria of the genus Endozoicomonas dominate the microbiome of the Mediterranean gorgonian coral Eunicella cavolini

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