Scleractinian cold-water corals in the Gulf of Cádiz—First clues about their spatial and temporal distribution

Wienberg, Claudia; Hebbeln, Dierk; Fink, Hiske G; Mienis, Furu; Dorschel, Boris; Vertino, Agostina; Correa, Matthias López; Freiwald, André

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2009.05.016

Cited by 118 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Shaded areas: G. inflata period in the planktonic foraminiferal assemblage; striped areas: D. coronata period in the benthic foraminiferal assemblage; patterned areas: mud breccia level. Wienberg et al, 2009). Some of them are located along the Spanish margin in water depths between 530 and 1100 m, others are present along the Moroccan margin in a larger water depth range of 420 to 1300 m (Wienberg et al, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wienberg et al, 2009). Some of them are located along the Spanish margin in water depths between 530 and 1100 m, others are present along the Moroccan margin in a larger water depth range of 420 to 1300 m (Wienberg et al, 2009). Fossil cold-water corals were also documented in the Strait of Gibraltar (Alvarez-Péréz et al, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An exploratory cruise of R/V Belgica in 2002 on an accretionary setting in the Gulf of Cadiz (Gutscher et al, 2002) off Larache (Morocco), led to the discovery of a cluster of nine mud volcanoes: the El Arraiche mud volcanoes field (Van Rensbergen et al, 2005). These structures occur in close association to cold-water coral carbonate mounds, which are up to 60 m high and located in water depths of 500-600 m on the Pen Duik Escarpement (Van Rensbergen et al, 2005;Foubert et al, 2008;Wienberg et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growth and demise of cold-water coral ecosystems on mud volcanoes in the West Alboran Sea: The messages from the planktonic and benthic foraminifera

et al. 2011

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The Dhaka and Maya mud volcanoes (MVs), located in the Mud Diapir Province in the Western Alboran Basin along the Moroccan Coasts, were cored during the TTR-17, Leg 1 cruise. Cores were taken on the top of the volcanoes at a water depth of 370 m on the Dhaka MV (core TTR17-MS411G) and at 410 m water depth on the Maya MV (core TTR17-MS419G), respectively. On both mud volcanoes the extruded mud breccia provides the nucleation point for the colonization and development of cold-water corals and associated ecosystems. Two phases of cold-water coral growth are observed: (1) between slightly older than 4175± 62 years BP and around 2230± 59 years BP at Dhaka, and (2) between slightly older than 15583 ± 185 years BP and around 7613 ± 38 years BP at Maya MV. On the top of the Maya MV only a small patch reef and/or isolated corals proliferated, whereas a more extended patch reef colonized the top of the Dhaka MV. At both sites the cold-water coral development was triggered by the availability of a suitable substrate for initial coral settling, provided either as a firm ground or as single clasts. Subsequently coral growth was supported by enhanced nutrient flux possibly related to upwelling and/or strong currents. During the intervals of coral growth planktonic foraminiferal assemblages were dominated by Neogloboquadrina incompta. The decline of coral ecosystems on the mud volcanoes is accompanied at surface by a shift from the N. incompta dominated assemblage to a Globorotalia inflata dominated assemblage, possibly reflecting more oligotrophic conditions. This shift is coeval to the passage from wet to arid conditions at the end of the African Humid Period at Maya MV. It is interpreted as an effect of an early human impact on a fragile environment, which was already stressed by desiccation at the time of the development of complex human society along the Mediterranean coasts, at Dhaka MV.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growth and demise of cold-water coral ecosystems on mud volcanoes in the West Alboran Sea: The messages from the planktonic and benthic foraminifera

et al. 2011

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“…Most antipatharians, colonial scleractinians and most gorgonians need hard substrate to settle Wagner et al, 2012). Members of the gorgonian family Isididae, e.g., A. arbuscula, can also occur in soft sediment due to a root-like holdfast (e.g., Mortensen and Buhl-Mortensen, 2005;Wienberg et al, 2009).…”

Section: Variability Of Coral Assemblages Among Substrate Typementioning

confidence: 99%

Cold-Water Coral Habitats in Submarine Canyons of the Bay of Biscay

et al. 2017

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The topographical and hydrological complexity of submarine canyons, coupled with high substratum heterogeneity, make them ideal environments for cold-water coral (CWC) habitats. These habitats, including reefs, are thought to provide important functions for many organisms. The canyons incising the continental slope of the Bay of Biscay have distinct morphological differences from the north to the south. CWCs have been reported from this basin in the late nineteenth century; however, little is known about their present-day distribution, diversity and environmental drivers in the canyons. In this study, the characteristics and distribution of CWC habitats in the submarine canyons of the Bay of Biscay are investigated. Twenty-four canyons and three locations between adjacent canyons were sampled using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) or a towed camera system. Acquired images were annotated for habitat type (using the CoralFISH classification system), substrate cover and coral identification. Furthermore, the influence of hydrological factors and geomorphology on the CWC distribution was investigated. Eleven coral habitats, formed by 62 morphotypes of scleractinians, gorgonians, antipatharians and seapens, inhabiting hard and/or soft substrate, were observed. The distribution patterns were heterogenous at regional and local scales; the south Bay of Biscay and the southeastern flank favored soft substrate habitats. Biogenic and hard substrate habitats supported higher coral diversities than soft substrate habitats and had similar species compositions. A higher coral species turnover characterized soft substrate habitats. Substrate type was the most important driver of the patterns in both distribution and composition. Observations of coral reefs on steeper areas in the canyons and coral rubble on flatter areas on the interfluve/upper slope support the hypothesis that canyons serve as refuges, being less accessible to trawling, although natural causes may also contribute to the explanation of this distribution pattern. The results of this study fed into a proposal of a Natura 2000 network in the Bay of Biscay where management plans are rare.

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“…These structures consist of a mixture of coral skeletons, the skeletal remains of the coral-associated megafaunal community, and pelagic or hemipelagic sediments that can serve as paleoenvironmental archives allowing to reconstruct the long-term development of the CWC ecosystems (e.g., Dorschel et al, 2005;Frank et al, 2009;Titschack et al, 2009;Wienberg et al, 2009;Eisele et al, 2011;Fink et al, 2012;López Correa et al, 2012;Douarin et al, 2013;Thierens et al, 2013).…”

Section: Hebbeln Et Al: Environmental Forcing Of the Campeche Colmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental forcing of the Campeche cold-water coral province, southern Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2014

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Abstract.With an extension of > 40 km 2 the recently discovered Campeche cold-water coral province located at the northeastern rim of the Campeche Bank in the southern Gulf of Mexico belongs to the largest coherent cold-water coral areas discovered so far. The Campeche province consists of numerous 20-40 m-high elongated coral mounds that are developed in intermediate water depths of 500 to 600 m. The mounds are colonized by a vivid cold-water coral ecosystem that covers the upper flanks and summits. The rich coral community is dominated by the framework-building Scleractinia Enallopsammia profunda and Lophelia pertusa, while the associated benthic megafauna shows a rather scarce occurrence. The recent environmental setting is characterized by a high surface water production caused by a local upwelling center and a dynamic bottom-water regime comprising vigorous bottom currents, obvious temporal variability, and strong density contrasts, which all together provide optimal conditions for the growth of cold-water corals. This setting -potentially supported by the diel vertical migration of zooplankton in the Campeche area -controls the delivering of food particles to the corals. The Campeche cold-water coral province is, thus, an excellent example highlighting the importance of the oceanographic setting in securing the food supply for the development of large and vivid cold-water coral ecosystems.

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Scleractinian cold-water corals in the Gulf of Cádiz—First clues about their spatial and temporal distribution

Cited by 118 publications

References 67 publications

Growth and demise of cold-water coral ecosystems on mud volcanoes in the West Alboran Sea: The messages from the planktonic and benthic foraminifera

Growth and demise of cold-water coral ecosystems on mud volcanoes in the West Alboran Sea: The messages from the planktonic and benthic foraminifera

Cold-Water Coral Habitats in Submarine Canyons of the Bay of Biscay

Environmental forcing of the Campeche cold-water coral province, southern Gulf of Mexico

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