TY - JOUR
T1 - Soft corals assemblages in deep environments of the Menorca Channel (Western Mediterranean Sea)
AU - Grinyó, Jordi
AU - Garriga, Alba
AU - Soler-Membrives, Anna
AU - Santín, Andreu
AU - Ambroso, Stefano
AU - López-González, Pablo J.
AU - Díaz, David
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the crew of the R/V Garc?a del Cid, Miguel Oliver, Socib, ?ngeles Alvari?o, the JAGO team (J. Schauer and K. Hissmann) from IFM GEOMAR (Kiel, Germany), the NEMO ROV pilot Gavin Newman, the LIROPUS team for helping during video acquisition. Also, we would like to thank all scientific members that participated in oceanographic surveys. This work was funded by the European project LIFE + INDEMARES ??Inventario y designaci?n de la Red Natura 2000 en ?reas marinas del estado espa?ol? (LIFE07/NAT/E/000732) and the EU-ENPI CBC-Med project ECOSAFIMED "Towards Ecosystem Conservation and Sustainable Fisheries in the Mediterranean basin"(ENPI-ECOSAFIMED-II-B/2.1/1073.
Funding Information:
The authors thank the crew of the R/V García del Cid, Miguel Oliver, Socib, Ángeles Alvariño, the JAGO team (J. Schauer and K. Hissmann) from IFM GEOMAR (Kiel, Germany), the NEMO ROV pilot Gavin Newman, the LIROPUS team for helping during video acquisition. Also, we would like to thank all scientific members that participated in oceanographic surveys. This work was funded by the European project LIFE + INDEMARES ‘‘Inventario y designación de la Red Natura 2000 en áreas marinas del estado español” ( LIFE07/NAT/E/000732 ) and the EU-ENPI CBC-Med project ECOSAFIMED "Towards Ecosystem Conservation and Sustainable Fisheries in the Mediterranean basin"(ENPI-ECOSAFIMED-II-B/2.1/1073.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/10
Y1 - 2020/10
N2 - Image-based research in mesophotic and deep environments of the Mediterranean Sea has significantly increased during the past decades. So far, this research has been focused on the ecology of key structuring organisms such as scleractinians, antipatharians, gorgonians or large demosponges. However, the ecology of true soft corals has barely been studied and is still in a very preliminary stage. To overcome this situation, soft coral assemblages in shelf and slope environments of the Menorca Channel (Western Mediterranean Sea) have been studied through the quantitative analysis of 85 video transect recorded over 38500 m2. Highest soft coral diversity was encountered on the shelf edge, resembling deep Mediterranean gorgonian patterns. Three soft coral assemblages, segregated by depth, substrate, and slope were identified: two monospecific ones composed by Nidalia studeri and Alcyonium palmatum, respectively and a multispecific one composed by Paralcyonium spinulosum, Alcyonium sp., Chironephthya mediterranea and Daniela koreni. The evaluated species presented average densities within the same range as other deep Mediterranean anthozoans ranging from 1 to 9 col.·m−2. However, N. studeri and P. spinulosum punctually formed dense monospecific aggregations, reaching maximum densities of 49 col.·m−2 and 60 col.·m−2 respectively. Both species monopolized vast extensions of the continental shelf and shelf edge. The identification and ecological characterization of these assemblages brings new insight about deep Mediterranean anthozoan communities, and provides baseline for future management plans in the study area.
AB - Image-based research in mesophotic and deep environments of the Mediterranean Sea has significantly increased during the past decades. So far, this research has been focused on the ecology of key structuring organisms such as scleractinians, antipatharians, gorgonians or large demosponges. However, the ecology of true soft corals has barely been studied and is still in a very preliminary stage. To overcome this situation, soft coral assemblages in shelf and slope environments of the Menorca Channel (Western Mediterranean Sea) have been studied through the quantitative analysis of 85 video transect recorded over 38500 m2. Highest soft coral diversity was encountered on the shelf edge, resembling deep Mediterranean gorgonian patterns. Three soft coral assemblages, segregated by depth, substrate, and slope were identified: two monospecific ones composed by Nidalia studeri and Alcyonium palmatum, respectively and a multispecific one composed by Paralcyonium spinulosum, Alcyonium sp., Chironephthya mediterranea and Daniela koreni. The evaluated species presented average densities within the same range as other deep Mediterranean anthozoans ranging from 1 to 9 col.·m−2. However, N. studeri and P. spinulosum punctually formed dense monospecific aggregations, reaching maximum densities of 49 col.·m−2 and 60 col.·m−2 respectively. Both species monopolized vast extensions of the continental shelf and shelf edge. The identification and ecological characterization of these assemblages brings new insight about deep Mediterranean anthozoan communities, and provides baseline for future management plans in the study area.
KW - Alcyonacea
KW - Continental shelf
KW - Continental shelf edge
KW - Continental slope
KW - Spatial and bathymetric distribution
KW - Vulnerable marine ecosystems
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090868049&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pocean.2020.102435
DO - 10.1016/j.pocean.2020.102435
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85090868049
SN - 0079-6611
VL - 188
JO - Progress in Oceanography
JF - Progress in Oceanography
M1 - 102435
ER -