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Three new sea fan species of Leptogorgia were discovered during multiple scuba diving expeditions along the Gulf of California coast and islands. Leptogorgia iridissp. nov. is distributed in the southern region of the gulf (Mexican Province), inhabiting tropical rocky reefs of the Islas Marías Archipelago (Nayarit) and Bahía Banderas (Jalisco). This species has small colonies (< 7 cm height) with at least five clearly distinct chromotypes. Leptogorgia martirensissp. nov. was found exclusively on the rocky reefs of San Pedro Mártir and San Esteban Islands located in the northern region of the Gulf of California (northern region of Cortez Province). Leptogorgia enricisp. nov. is distributed from the south to the northern region of the Gulf of California (Cortez Province), inhabiting substrates of rocky reefs, sandy and pebbly sea floors. Comprehensive ecological diving expeditions to identify and classify octocorals in the Mexican Pacific (1995–2019) indicate that L. iridissp. nov. and L. martirensissp. nov. are likely to be micro-endemics and L. enricisp. nov. is endemic to the Gulf of California, which defines their currently known biogeographic distribution ranges.

15 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables, Coralligenous formations are biogenic structures typical of the underwater Mediterranean seascape. Their intricate, multi-layered species assemblages are composed of perennial, long-lived organisms, particularly vulnerable to natural or human-induced disturbances. Despite their high ecological role and conservation value, few studies have addressed the assemblages outside the NW Mediterranean. This is the first quantitative assessment of coralligenous in the N Aegean Sea (NE Mediterranean), specifically focusing at the upper bathymetric limit of assemblages that are dominated by the yellow gorgonian Eunicella cavolini. The number and percent cover of macrobenthic species were studied at depths of 18 to 35 m, using a photoquadrat method. A total of 99 benthic taxa were identified, out of which 89 perennial ones were used to investigate spatial patterns in assemblage structure, composition, and biodiversity. A mean number of 47 perennial taxa were recorded per site, with encrusting coralline algae and sponges being the dominant groups in percent cover and species number, respectively. Across the studied localities, structural complexity and community composition were overall similar, but assemblages presented distinctive differences at the level of sites highlighting the role of local abiotic and anthropogenic factors in the shaping of the coralligenous. Compared to the rest of the Mediterranean, assemblages hosted a similar number of taxa. However, the number and percent cover of erect bryozoans were generally low, while, apart from E. cavolini, other erect anthozoan species were absent. This work provides an important baseline for comparisons and monitoring at a local or Mediterranean scale level, This work has been co-financed by the EU Social Fund and Greek National Funds through the NSRF 2007-2013 Research Funding Program: Heracleitus II, Investing in knowledge society

Coralligenous outcrops are slow-dynamic habitats exhibiting high structural complexity. If these valuable habitats are degraded, relatively long time is required to recover their structure and full functionality. In order to reduce recovery times, restoration actions can focus on target habitat-forming species. Facilitation processes (i.e. positive species interactions), rarely considered to date, may be further explored to enhance the effectiveness of coralligenous restoration initiatives. Here we test if erect habitat- forming species, putatively modifying light penetration and/or water movement, can affect the survival and growth of co-occurring encrusting and massive ones. For that purpose, we designed an experiment using the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata and bryozoans, important coralligenous structural animals, as model organisms. The experiment, replicated in Spain, Italy and Croatia, is based on the comparison between series of 0.25 m2 experimental plots. Experimental treatments include addition of bryozoan recruitment- enhancing devices (plastic grids) with and without gorgonian colonies and controls (empty and artefact ones) for a total of 4 replicates per treatment. The hypothesis is that the erect layer (15 P. clavata fragments up to 20 cm in maximal height per experimental plot) could facilitate the settlement of bryozoan colonies onto grids within the experimental plots and enhance their survival and growth. The experiment was initiated in May-July 2017 within the EU Horizon 2020 project MERCES (Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas, http://www.merces-project.eu/) and it is still ongoing. In this contribution we present and discuss our preliminary experimental findings.

Octocorals (Cnidaria, Anthozoa Octocorallia) are magnificent repositories of natural products with fascinating and unusual chemical structures and bioactivities of interest to medicine and biotechnology. However, mechanistic understanding of the contribution of microbial symbionts to the chemical diversity of octocorals is yet to be achieved. This review inventories the natural products so-far described for octocoral-derived bacteria and fungi, uncovering a true chemical arsenal of terpenes, steroids, alkaloids, and polyketides with antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antifouling, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimalarial activities of enormous potential for blue growth. Genome mining of 15 bacterial associates (spanning 12 genera) cultivated from Eunicella spp. resulted in the identification of 440 putative and classifiable secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), encompassing varied terpene-, polyketide-, bacteriocin-, and nonribosomal peptide-synthase BGCs. This points towards a widespread yet uncharted capacity of octocoral-associated bacteria to synthetize a broad range of natural products. However, to extend our knowledge and foster the near-future laboratory production of bioactive compounds from (cultivatable and currently uncultivatable) octocoral symbionts, optimal blending between targeted metagenomics, DNA recombinant technologies, improved symbiont cultivation, functional genomics, and analytical chemistry are required. Such a multidisciplinary undertaking is key to achieving a sustainable response to the urgent industrial demand for novel drugs and enzyme varieties.

12 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Gorgonian corals serve as key engineering species within Mediterranean rocky-shore communities that have recently suffered from repeated mortality events during warm temperature anomalies. Among the factors that may link thermal conditions with disease outbreaks, a number of bacterial pathogens have been implicated; they may take advantage of decreases in the defenses and/or overall health of the gorgonian hosts. Considering the beneficial role of the resident bacteria in tropical coral holobionts, a detailed characterization of the gorgonian-associated microbial populations is required to better understand the relationships among native microbiota, host fitness, and pathogen susceptibility. In this study, the bacterial communities associated with three sympatric gorgonian species, Eunicella singularis, Eunicella cavolini, and Corallium rubrum, were investigated to provide insight into the stability and the specificity of host–microbe interactions. Natural variations in bacterial communities were detected using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of the 16S ribosomal DNA. No major differences were identified between individual colonies sampled in winter or in summer within each gorgonian species. Although hierarchical cluster analysis of the T-RFLP profiles revealed that the three species harbor distinct communities, comparison of the T-RFLP peaks indicated the presence of common bacterial ribotypes. From phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA clone libraries, we identified a bacterial lineage related to the Hahellaceae family within the Oceanospirillales that is shared among E. singularis, E. cavolini, and C. rubrum and that dominates the communities of both species of Eunicella. However, distinct clades of Hahellaceae are harbored by various gorgonian species from Mediterranean and tropical waters, suggesting that these bacteria have formed host-specific symbiotic relationships with gorgonian octocorals. In addition, the relatedness of symbionts from host species belonging to the same taxon but occurring in geographically remote areas is consistent with codivergence between gorgonians and their associated bacteria, This research was supported by the Total Foundation for Marine Biodiversit

A choice experiment is undertaken to elicit preferences of scuba divers in the Marine Protected Area of Medes Islands (Spain). This is the first non-market valuation study of a typical Mediterranean habitat, the Coralligenous, which is characterized by high biodiversity, geomorphologic complexity and iconic species like gorgonians. This habitat is not only very attractive for scuba diving, but is also threatened by climate change and ocean acidification, which is our motivation for undertaking this valuation study. Choice attributes include the number of divers on a diving trip, underwater landscape, presence of jellyfish species, expected state of gorgonians, and price of a dive. Results of multinomial and random parameter logit models indicate a decrease in the attractiveness of Coralligenous areas for scuba diving as a result of both environmental pressures. Estimates of welfare values show that the local extinction of gorgonians had the highest negative effect on utility equivalent to a cost of €60 per dive, followed by abundance of stinging jellyfish with a cost of €26 per dive. Choice probabilities for the selection of different dive experiences indicate the highest rejection rates for the combined sea warming and acidification scenarios.

The occurrence of modified tentacles (i.e. thread-like tentacles) in the Mediterranean octocorals Paramuricea clavata and Corallium rubrum is reported. Colonies of four species of Mediterranean gorgonians were maintained in aquarium conditions for more than 5 months. The development of thread-like tentacles has been observed only in two of the four species. The presence of modified tentacles in other cnidarians has been usually associated with defensive/aggressive behavior. Our observations showed that thread-like tentacles in P. clavata and C. rubrum can also be used for feeding.

International audience; Molecular analyses of the ecologically important gorgonian octocoral genus Leptogorgia are scant and mostly deal with few species from restricted geographical regions. Here we explore the phylogenetic relationships and the evolutionary history of Leptogorgia using the complete mitochondrial genomes of six Leptogorgia species from different localities in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and eastern Pacific as well as four other genera of Gorgoniidae and Plexauridae. Our mitogenomic analyses showed high inter-specific diversity, variable nucleotide substitution rates and, for some species, novel genomic features such as ORFs of unknown function. The phylogenetic analyses using complete mitogenomes and an extended mtMutS dataset recovered Leptogorgia as polyphyletic, and the species considered in the analyses were split into two defined groups corresponding to different geographic regions, namely the eastern Pacific and the Atlantic-Mediterranean. Our phylogenetic analysis based on mtMutS also showed a clear separation between the eastern Atlantic and South African Leptogorgia, suggesting the need of a taxonomic revision for these forms. A time-calibrated phylogeny showed that the separation of eastern Pacific and western Atlantic species started ca. 20 Mya and suggested a recent divergence for eastern Pacific species and for L. sarmentosa-L. capverdensis. Our results also revealed high inter-specific diversity among eastern Atlantic and South African species, highlighting a potential role of the geographical diversification processes and geological events occurring during the last 30 Ma in the Atlantic on the evolutionary history of these organisms.

Final report; Coralligenous is a hard-bottom mainly biogenic habitat, produced by the agglomeration of calcareous encrusting algae growing in dim-light conditions. It is characterized by high structural complexity and spatial heterogeneity, thus supporting rich biodiversity and a variety of sessile assemblages, shaping a typical and one of the most important habitats of the Mediterranean Sea. It produces goods (e.g. food, raw material) and services in several domains (e.g. CO2 sequestration, aesthetics and education). Pollution, smothering and abrasion from a variety of human activities may cause its degradation at a broad scale, whilst fishing and collection of organisms mainly affect target species. Its high aesthetic value may also induce frequentation by SCUBA divers, an additional cause of degradation. Coralligenous is also susceptible to invasive alien species. This habitat, which is of great ecological, socio-economic and cultural importance, is also under the pressures linked to global warming.CIGESMED’s GOAL was to understand links between natural and anthropogenic pressures and coralligenous habitats as well as the effects on their functioning to define the Good Environmental Status (GES) of the coastal Mediterranean Sea and propose solutions for maintaining good environmental conditions.Coralligenous specific indices have been constructed and tested by scientists, marine natural parks and reserves managers, also through the implementation of a “citizen science” pilot network. The use of the newest data mining techniques and the development of visualization tools to sort, organize and illustrate very large heterogeneous sets of data constitute an original but complex approach. It permitted to mobilize, visualize and share large data collections, and to manage knowledge to study these habitats.The OUTCOME consists of: i) experimentation and results of new methods to build survey at large scales (testing operating process and materials during dive, photo analyses, population genetics, phylogenetic and metabarcoding approaches) ii) tools to diffuse new methods (website, services, training and field tools for scientists and citizen science, publications) and avoid indices misun-derstanding, iii) tools, methods and prototypes to provide datamining usable for an integrative assessment of the GES within the Framework of the Marine Strategy Directive (for this part, CIGESMED members initiated a new consortium using CIGESMED metadata and dataset to build graph representation, mine graphs and provide tools for environmental decision making). All the outcomes are freely accessible online on websites with open access, open source and open data.The overall achievement was to to bring together researchers (in ecology, economics, sociology, law, etc.) and managers in order to (i) identify the needs and to better address them, (ii) to determine interdisciplinary areas of research concerning the development and management of the coralligenous that could be the subject of a new [multidisciplinary / European / Mediterranean] research project.CIGESMED gathered scientists from France, Greece and Turkey, making it possible to assess the coralligenous habitat in a number of sites in both the northwestern Mediterranean basin and the Aegean-Levantine, under a common approach. Members of ten highly experienced marine ecology laboratories were involved.A total of 10 stations in France (in the Gulf of Lions), Greece (in the Ionian and the Aegean Seas) and Turkey (in the Aegean and the Levantine Seas) were selected to study coralligenous assemblages across the Mediterranean Sea. Analyses of photoquadrats (50x50 cm) and in situ visual observations revealed 313 species, belonging to 15 higher taxa. A total of 204 species were found in Turkey, 192 species in France and 109 species in Greece. Only fifty species were common in all sites. The abundance of the taxonomic groups in coralligenous habitats vary among sites and countries. The multivariate analysis revealed five main assemblages across the Mediterra-nean Sea. A number of important threats were withnessed to have an important impact on coralligenous, with the settlement of invasive alien species (e.g. Caulerpa cylindracea, Womersleyella setacea), sedimentation and factors causing algal bleaching being the most important ones.A new method and index were applied and tested in France (60 stations in Gulf of Lions and Provence) and Greece (4 stations in the Gulf of Corinth) to evaluate the health condition of coralligenous assemblages. This method (INDEX-COR), based on images analyses (60x40cm) and in situ observations, takes into account three metrics giving different levels of information: (i) the ratio "Sensitive-Tolerante Species", (ii) the observable taxonomic richness of the assemblages and (iii) the structural complexity. The global index combining these metrics was tested according to a global index of pressure. Reference conditions were defined in France to propose an interpretation grid to evaluate the status of coralligenous assemblages. This grid applied in Greece demonstrated the necessity to collecte multiple and complete dataset in order to define the reference conditions for the different Mediterranean sectors (e.g. Ionian Sea, Egean Sea and Cretan Sea). Finally, additional indices (CAI, COARSE and ESCA) were tested on the datasets obtained in France and Greece. The comparison of the results is still in progress. The first ones show the advantages and the limits of each index. They underline the need to achieve precisions on (i) their degree of sensitivity in the evaluation of the coralligenous assemblages and (ii) the impact of the different images analysis techniques.Although the global set of samples is still under analysis, the metabarcoding pilot study already gave very promising results for the assessment of coralligenous community species composition: many more species were identified than by eye, predicting a higher resolution than traditional approaches for monitoring and comparing coralligenous assemblages.A dedicated Citizen Science initiative was designed and launched in the course of the project, aiming to engage enthusiast divers in the study and monitoring of coralligenous assemblages through the gathering of basic information regarding spatial occurrence, assemblage structure and associated pressures and threats. The implementation platform comprises a data collection protocol and a multilingual website which serve both educational and data submission purposes. Online and paper educational documentation, as well as observation protocol guidelines are essential tools developed to train volunteer divers. Underwater slates based on the princi-ples of rapid visual assessment have also been developed and distributed to all participants for data collection. Geo-referenced data reporting focuses on: (a) basic topographic and abiotic features for the preliminary description of each site, and the creation of data series for sites receiving multiple visits; (b) presence and relative abundance of typical conspicuous species, as well as, (c) existence of pressures and imminent threats, for the characterization and assessment of coralligenous assemblages. More than 100 observation sets from across the Mediterranean have been registered to date by approximately 30 divers while 75 members have registered to the website, which remain active after the conclusion of the project.Metadata and data produced by the CIGESMED project have a high potential for use by several stakeholders involved in environmental management. Mapping this information needed to share common definitions on coralligenous components and allows starting building a micro thesaurus. The methodology is now developed and the first part of the thesaurus is online. A new consortium called IndexMed whose task is to index Mediterranean biodiversity data, makes it possible to build graphs in order to analyse the CIGESMED data and develop new solutions for coralligenous data mining.The outreach activity of the project included participation of the Consortium to an impressive number of Conferences, Symposia and Workshops, which made it possible to achieve not only the communication of the main objectives of the project but also the development of links with other projects, targeting Marine Biodiversity [e.g. EMBOS (The European Marine Biodiversity Observa-tory), LifeWatch (ESFRI Research Infrastruc-ture), DEVOTES (DEVelopment Of innovative Tools for understanding marine biodiversity and assessing good Environmental Status), VECTORS (VECTORS of Change in European Marine Ecosystems and their Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts) and EU BON (Building the European Biodiversity Observation Net-work)]. A flyer was developed to provide the basic information on the project. The project was also advertised during much larger events, in the premises of the participating institutes, such as open days (e.g. exhibitions for the Climate change, TEDx events). The target audience for the outreach activity consisted of researchers and scientists, students, educators, environmental managers, policy makers and stakeholders from all the economic sectors including industry. The means which were used were: (a) the project website, which until now shows a high number of visits recorded for a specialized one: 250,000 hits; (b) the production of 353 articles for the scientific audience and for the society at large. Five websites have been created from which information on the project is broadcasted.The methods and datasets produced by CIGESMED are disseminated to the STIC community, as free tools for studies to be used for any type of data sciences (data mining, data representation ...), particularly through the means provided by IndexMed and through data qualification processes (which will need to be continuously improved to keep them relevant). This reusability of the data will be improved in particular by the production of data papers and future animations planned within the framework of the IndexMed consortiumThe Steering Committee consisting of all the WP leaders and the coordinator was responsible for all practical decision making, strategic planning and implementation.A Committee of External Advisors met at an annual basis, and aimed at providing advice on all aspects of the execution of the project to ensure CIGESMED to meet its objectives.

16 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, Leptogorgiasarmentosa (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) is a common soft bottom-gravel gorgonian in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. This study examined the annual reproductive cycle of a L. sarmentosa population at a depth of 30 m, and further determined the sex ratio, the intra-colonial gonadal output variability and the age at first reproduction. L. sarmentosa was gonochoric and the population studied was characterized by a sex ratio slightly biased towards female colonies (1 male: 1.6 female). Secondary branches had higher polyp fertility (number of gonads per polyp) compared to primary branches, but because of the number of polyps on the former, most of the sexual effort was actually contributed by the primary branches, as in other gorgonian species. Male colonies became fertile above a height of 21 cm, but female colonies had gonads even in the 1-10 cm height class. Spawning occurred between late August and early September, although there was no direct observation of broadcast spawning or surface brooder strategy. The maximum gonad size was 550 μm in males and 500 μm in females, with a mean diameter of 270 μm for spermaries, and 190 μm for eggs. The number of gonads per polyp prior to spawning reached 4-5 spermaries polyp ' in male colonies, and 3-4 eggs polyp ' in female colonies. Spawning did not appear to be synchronized with the full moon. L. sarmentosa appeared to have a different reproductive strategy to other Mediterranean gorgonians (living on hard bottom substrata), probably because of its different habitat preferences and biological (morphology, diet, prey capture rates, growth, biochemical levels) features. © 2009 Balaban, Support for this work was provided by an F.P.I. fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), which was granted to SR under D.G.I.C.Y.T. project PB94-0014-C02-01, and a Ramón y Cajal contract RyC-2007-01327

Doutoramento em Ciências do Mar The red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata is an engineering species, inhabiting rocky shore in the Mediterranean Sea and Portuguese coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The species was severely impacted by climatically induced mass mortality events in the NW Mediterranean. The general aim of the study was to investigate the genetic diversity of P. clavata in the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean), a region highly impacted by past mass mortality events, and the Atlantic Ocean, where mass mortality was never observed due to generally lower water temperature. Microsatellites were used to study the contribution of clonal reproduction, connectivity pattern, genetic structure and diversity. Additionally one mitochondrial marker (Cytochrome Oxidase I) was used to compare the Atlantic and Mediterranean populations. The results revealed, that clonal propagation does not play an important role in P. clavata, since at four out of nine sites clones were not detected and the maximum prevalence of clones reached only 13%. The study failed to detect any genetic diversity loss in the P. clavata populations affected by mass mortality events. The migration pattern among sites affected by mass mortality and unaffected ones was described. The results confirmed that low larval dispersal capability in the red gorgonian may still be ecologically significant for population replenishment and persistence, enabling migration between local populations. This research has identified an important genetic break within the red gorgonian distribution. Both markers used in the present study, mtDNA and microsatellites, revealed the same discontinuity between the Mediterranean and Atlantic. Significant differences were found in the genetic diversity between the Mediterranean and Atlantic populations, with heterozygosity and allelic richness being slightly, but significantly, higher in the Mediterranean Sea, possibly as a result of colonization history or isolation of the Atlantic sites. The differences in genetic diversity were also detected between deep and shallow populations. Allelic richness increase with depth, being lower in the shallow, less stable populations due to past mortality events induced by warming and other interacting factors and higher in deeper, stable populations.The results should prove to be particularly valuable for the conservation of soft corals communities and thus the overall marine biodiversity. A gorgónia vermelha, Paramuricea clavata, é uma espécie engenheira que habita costas e recifes rochosos do Mediterrâneo e do Atlântico ao longo da costa de Portugal, a profundidades que variam entre 15 e os 80 m. Esta espécie foi severamente afetada, no Mediterrâneo NO, por eventos de mortalidade induzidos por variações climáticas recentes. O objetivo geral deste estudo foi a investigação da diversidade genética de P. clavata no Mar da Ligúria (Mediterrâneio NO), uma região altamente impactada por eventos de mortalidade em massa causados por temperaturas elevadas, e no Atlântico, onde mortalidade em massa nunca foi observada em consequência de temperaturas genericamente mais baixas. Foram utilizados microsatélites para o estudo da contribuição da reprodução clonal, padrões de conectividade, estrutura genética e diversidade genética. Adicionalmente, um marcador mitocondrial (Cytochrome Oxidase I) foi usado para comparar as populações do Atlântico e do Mediterrâneo. Os resultados revelaram que a propagação clonal não desempenha um papel importante em P. clavata, uma vez que em quatro dos nove sítios não foram detetados clones e que a máxima prevalência de clones detetada atingiu apenas 13%. No entanto, a prevalência de clones detectada no presente estudo foi maior do que o previamente relatado. O estudo não conseguiu detetar qualquer perda de diversidade genética nas populações de P. clavata afetadas por eventos de mortalidade em massa. Foi possível descrever o padrão de migração entre os sítios afetados pela mortalidade em massa e os não afetados. Os resultados confirmaram que a baixa capacidade de dispersão larvar na gorgónia vermelha pode ainda ser ecologicamente significante para a recolonização e persistência populacional, permitindo a migração entre populações locais. A troca de larvas foi mais comum entre recifes separados por 200-300m, mas também foi detectada entre locais separados por 20 km. Os dados indicaram ainda migrações comuns entre recifes localizados a menores profundidades, impactados por mortalidade em massa, e recifes mais profundos, não impactados, do mesmo local. A presente investigação identificou uma importante descontinuidade genética na distribuição da gorgónia vermelha, com ambos os marcadores utilizados no estudo, mtDNA e microsatélites, revelando a mesma descontinuidade entre o Mediterrâneo e o Atlântico. Foram também encontradas diferenças significativas na diversidade genética entre o Mediterrâneo e as populações do Oceano Atlântico, com a heterozigosidade e a riqueza alélica ligeiramente, mas significativamente, mais elevadas no Mediterrâneo, possivelmente como resultado da história da colonização ou isolamento dos locais do Atlântico. Finalmente, foram ainda detectadas diferenças na diversidade genética entre as populações superficiais e mais profundas. A riqueza alélica foi menor nas populações menos profundas, menos estáveis devido a eventos de mortalidade induzidos pelo aquecimento e por outros fatores, e maior nas populações mais profundas e estáveis. Estes resultados devem revelar-se particularmente valiosos para a conservação de comunidades de gorgónias e assim a biodiversidade marinha global. La gorgonia rossa Paramuricea clavata è una ‘engineering species’, vive sui fondali rocciosi del Mediterraneo e della costa portoghese dell’Oceano Atlantico. La specie è stata severamente impattata da eventi di mortalità di massa indotti dal CC nel Mediterraneo nord-occidentale. Lo scopo dello studio è stato di indagare la diversità genetica di P. clavata nel Mar Ligure (Mediterraneo nord-occidentale), una regione fortemente impattata da eventi di mortalità, e nell’Oceano Atlantico, dove eventi di mortalità non sono mai stati registrati grazie a valori di temperatura dell’acqua generalmente più bassi. Per studiare il contributo della riproduzione clonale, i pattern di connettività, la struttura e la diversità genetica sono stati usati i microsatelliti. In aggiunta, un marcatore mitocondriale (Cytochrome Oxidase I) è stato utilizzato per confrontare le popolazioni atlantiche con quelle mediterranee. I risultati hanno mostrato che la propagazione clonale non gioca un ruolo importante in P. clavata, in quanto in quattro siti su nove non sono stati individuati cloni e la predominanza massima di cloni ha totalizzato solo il 13%. Lo studio non ha riscontrato perdita di diversità genetica nelle popolazioni di P. clavata colpite da eventi di mortalità. Sono stati descritti i pattern di migrazione tra siti colpiti da mortalità e quelli non colpiti. I risultati hanno confermato che la bassa dispersione larvale nella gorgonia rossa può essere ancora ecologicamente significativa per il rifornimento e la persistenza di popolazioni, favorendo la migrazione tra popolazioni locali. Questa ricerca ha identificato un importante break genetico nella distribuzione della gorgonia rossa. Entrambi i marker usati in questo studio, mtDNA e microsatelliti, hanno rivelato la stessa discontinuità tra Mediterraneo ed Atlantico. Differenze significative sono state riscontrate nella diversità genetica tra popolazioni mediterranee e atlantiche, con eterozigosità e ricchezza allelica leggermente, ma significativamente più alte nel Mediterraneo, probabilmente come risultato della storia di colonizzazione o isolamento dei siti atlantici. Le differenze nella diversità genetica sono state riscontrate anche tra popolazioni profonde e superficiali. La ricchezza allelica aumenta con la profondità, risultando più bassa nelle popolazioni più superficiali, meno stabili a causa degli eventi di mortalità indotti dal riscaldamento e da altri fattori interagenti, e più alta nelle popolazioni più profonde e relativamente più stabili. I risultati sono di particolare interesse per la conservazione delle comunità di coralli molli e quindi nel complesso per la biodiversità marina.

Octocorals are characteristic and abundant components of shallow waters, rocky walls, and coral reef. Octocoral species richness of the Costa Rican Pacific has been addressed in several taxonomic publications. However, they have not been studied in terms of ecology, due to the problematic identification, especially in the field and the difficult access to specific localities for this type of research. In 2012 we explored some localities (less than 35 m deep) and evaluated the octocorallian fauna, recording species richness and occurrence. Our objective was to record octocoral species and to facilitate their identification by providing a taxonomic key for future studies We identified 10 species of Pacifigorgia, nine of Leptogorgia and four of Eugorgia. Here we include photographs of sclerites and of preserved and live octocorals. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl. 4): 43-62. Epub 2014 Diciembre 01. Los octocorales son componentes abundantes y característicos de las aguas someras sobre promontorios rocosos y arrecifes de coral. Se ha informado sobre la riqueza de especies de octocorales de Pacífico de Costa Rica en diversas publicaciones taxonómicos. Sin embargo, no han sido estudiados en cuanto a su ecología, especialmente por los problemas que representa el reconocimiento de las especies, especialmente en el campo y el difícil acceso a las localidades para este tipo de investigación. En 2012 como parte del proyecto Estudios científicos en el área costera del Pacífico Norte, Costa Rica para evaluar el estado de las comunidades coralinas de las aguas someras tuvimos la oportunidad de explorar algunos sitios (menos de 35 m de profundidad) y evaluar la fauna de Octocorallia. Se registró la presencia y la riqueza de especies. Se encontraron cuatro especies en el género Eugorgia, nueve en Leptogorgia y 10 en Pacifigorgia. El objetivo de este trabajo es registrar las especies de octocorales encontradas y facilitar la identificación de esta fauna por medio de la elaboración de una clave para futuros estudios. Las especies se identificaron y caracterizaron morfológicamente, se ilustran con fotografías submarinas, de especímenes preservados y de sus escleritas (estructuras esqueléticas que forman la colonia, que se utilizan en su diferenciación taxonómica).

The present study aimed to explicitly quantify the link between the attributes of shallow-water gorgonian colonies (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) and the ecological patterns of associated non-colonial epifaunal invertebrates. Based on multiple regression analysis, we tested the contribution of several attributes (colony height, width, and area, fractal dimension as a measure of colony complexity, lacunarity as a measure of the heterogeneity, and “colonial” epibiont cover) to abundance and taxonomic richness of associated assemblages. The results highlight the variation in the response of epifaunal assemblages to the gorgonian colony characteristics. The nature and intensity of the relationships were gorgonian species-dependent and varied from one taxonomic group to another. For both gorgonian species analyzed, the strongest predictor of species richness and abundance of the epifaunal assemblages was “colonial” epibiont cover, possibly due to a trophic effect (direct or indirect enhancement of food availability) combined with the surface available for colonization (species–area effect). Although structural complexity is usually indicated as the main driver for rich and abundant coral-associated assemblages, no significant relationship was observed between fractal dimension and the community descriptors; lacunarity, which reflects the sizes of the inter-branch spaces, was only linked to taxonomic richness in the assemblages associated with Leptogorgia lusitanica. The validity of the paradigm that structural complexity enhances biodiversity may be scale-dependent. In the case of gorgonians, the effect of complexity at the “garden” level may be more relevant than at the individual colony level. This reinforces the need for the conservation of gorgonian aggregation areas as a whole in order to preserve host diversity and size structure.

In the Azores, gorgonians and antipatharians are the most frequent habitat-builders, making up more than twenty different types of the so called “coral gardens” that are found between 20 and 3,500 m depth. Despite their importance as ecosystem engineers, there is no information about their basic biology which is a basic step for ecological studies and fundamental to be able to establish suitable management and conservation measurements, adapted to the characteristics and biological dynamics of species and populations. This paper describes the reproductive strategy, gametogenic cycle and reproductive timing of one antipatharian species: Antipathella wollastoni, and three octocoral species: Callogorgia verticillata, Paracalyptrophora josephinae and Dentomuricea meteor. Antipathella wollatoni is an antipatharian species endemic to the Macaronesia, encountered in depths between 20-900 m. Sampling of this species was performed monthly on six tagged colonies during one year and specimens were histologically processed. The octocoral species examined have a narrower but deeper bathymetric range in the Azores, occurring between 180-600 m depth, and thus samples were obtained from fisheries by-catch. Information on their basic reproductive biology will contribute to a better understanding of corals ability to recover from natural or anthropogenic damage (e.g. fishing, mining). In addition, these results will provide a robust baseline for other studies such as larvae biology and recruitment, which can bring a better understanding of the formation and renewal processes of cold-water coral communities which are included in the Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) and deserve protection.

3 pages, A recent article by Bruckner (2009; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 397:319-332) focused on population decline in the commercially exploited Mediterranean red coral Corallium rubrum. Bruckner (2009) used data on coral size structure and reproductive output gathered by a variety of sampling methods in different populations: Data on overharvested shallow-water populations (which are generally made up of crowded, small-sized colonies) were combined with the small amount of data available on deep-water populations (which consist of larger, sparse colonies); the latter have become the main target for commercial harvesting nowadays. In our opinion, the conclusions in Bruckner (2009) did not fully reflect the heterogeneity and the limits of the data set. Collection of sound demographic data through broader, coordinated research applying standard procedures to different populations is required for a reliable analysis of Corallium rubrum population dynamics

13 pages, 4 figures, 6 tables, Paramuricea clavata Risso, 1826 (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) is a characteristic species of Mediterranean benthic fauna. The natural diet and prey capture rate of the species were studied in the field at the Medes Islands (NW Mediterranean Sea) using continuous flow incubation chambers. In situ grazing rates on DOC, detrital POC, and pico-, nano- and microplankton were examined over 1 annual cycle, P. clavata capture nanoeukaryotes, phytoplankton and ciliates as well as detrital POC. Colonies ingested an annual mean of 0.19 ± 0.17 μg C μg-1 C d-1 from these food sources. No significant capture of DOC and picoplankton (heterotrophic bacteria, Prochlorococcus sp., Synechococcus sp. and picoeukaryotes) was observed. Carbon of detrital origin accounted for 86 ± 14% of the total ingested carbon and showed a marked seasonal pattern in which winter and spring were the seasons with the highest ingestion rates. Ingestion of live POC also exhibited a marked seasonal pattern, with the highest values occurring in winter. The results show that P. clavata has a broad and heterogeneous diet that ranges from 3.8 μm (nanoeukaryotes) to 700 μm (copepods). Capture of detrital and live POC showed minimum values during the summer period, which supports the hypothesis that trophic limitations may underlie the summer regression in activity of the species. The results, together with evidence from previous studies, suggest that the capture of detrital POC may be a common and important feature among gorgonian species. It was calculated that the species daily captured 1-22% of diatoms, 1-9% of nanoeukaryotes, 1-26% of dinoflagellates, 2-99% of ciliates, and 2-10% of suspended detrital POC m-3 of the water adjacent to the bottom. The estimated capture rate of the species suggests that, in littoral ecosystems, grazing by macroinvertebrates on planktonic communities and suspended detrital POC should not be disregarded

Gorgonije su sesilni organizmi koji igraju važnu strukturnu i ekološku ulogu u morskim zajednicama, pružajući stanište epifauni, te povećavajući biomasu i raznolikost zajednica. Većina podataka o gorgonijama koje nalazimo u Sredozemnom moru vezana je uz one populacije koje dolaze do 40 metara dubine. Gorgonije se mogu razmnožavati spolno i nespolno. Spolnim razmnožavanjem, nastaje trepetljikava ličinka planula, koja slobodno pliva u stupcu vode dok se ne pričvrsti za podlogu. Cilj ovog istraživanja je, po prvi put, odrediti reprodukcijski ciklus i fekunditet vrste Eunicella singularis na dubini od 90 m, na području dubokog šelfa. Zabilježen je omjer spolova koji nije značajno odstupao od 1:1, niti jedna hermafroditska jedinka nije pronađena među 238 otvorenih kolonija. Ženskim kolonijama potrebno je 14 do 15 mjeseci da bi završile reprodukcijski ciklus, dok je muškim kolonijama dovoljno 5 do 6 mjeseci. Temperatura, koja je do sada smatrana ekološkim čimbenikom koji najviše utječe na reprodukcijski ciklus gorgonija, prema dobivenim rezultatima nema utjecaj na gametogenezu E. singularis. Razmnožavanje je vrlo vjerojatno regulirano na genetičkoj razini vrste. Gorgonians are sessile organisms which play an important structural and ecological role, potentially providing a shelter to epifauna, increasing biomass and biodiversity. The majority of studies in Mediterranean have been conducted on shallow water populations of gorgonians (depths of less than 40 m). Gorgonians reproduce both sexually and asexually. The product of sexual reproduction is a ciliated, free-swimming, planula larvae which settles down on the sea bottom. The main goal of this study is to describe, for the first time, reproduction cycle and fecundity of Eunicella singularis which dwells on the continental shelf at depth of 90 m. The sex ratio did not significantly differ from 1:1, not a single hermaphroditic colony was found within the 238 colonies examined. Female colonies needed 14-15 months to complete their reproductive cycle, while for male colonies, the whole cycle was completed in 5-6 months. Temperature, the most important and the most often examined factor which may influence the gorgonian reproduction cycle, did not have any impact on gametogenesis of E. singularis. Therefore, reproduction is higly probable regulated on genetic level of the species.

The distribution of Eunicella cavolini (Anthozoa) was mapped based on scientific data and observers’ information, in order to depict its geographical range across the Mediterranean. Moreover, an overview of scientific literature was realized to assess the current state of knowledge regarding its populations. Results show that E. cavolini displays an extensive distribution, from the Alboran to the Sea of Marmara, but is more common at the Italian, French, E Adriatic and N Aegean coasts. Populations were mainly recorded at depths of

Global change is one of the major concerns for the conservation of the rich biodiversity of coralligenous assemblages. In the Mediterranean Sea, there is a strong likelihood of increasing frequencies of mass mortality events linked to global warming and the spread of invasive species. Gorgonian forests, one of the most emblematic facies of coralligenous outcrops, are especially vulnerable to global change. The presentation will focus on the study of the responses of gorgonians, mainly the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata, to warming and exotic algae invasions from observational and experimental approaches in NW Mediterranean Sea. Long-term monitoring of recurrent warming- induced mortalities in marine protected areas such as Cabrera Archipelago and Columbretes Islands showed that warming may act as an important driver for long-term shifts in the bathymetrical distribution of gorgonian forests. Aquaria experiments and field surveys indicate that thermal stress may also have important sublethal effects on the reproduction and the viability of early life stages of gorgonians. Additionally, manipulative experiments demonstrated that invasive algae, such as Caulerpa cylindracea and Womersleyella setacea, have the capacity to reduce gorgonian recruitment and juvenile survival. The final aim of the presentation is to discuss the future consequences of global change on the persistence and recovery of gorgonian forests, in particular, and of coralligenous assemblages in general.

Paramuricea clavata je ključna vrsta mediteranskih zajednica čvrste podloge, u kojima značajno doprinosi biomasi i strukturnoj složenosti. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi, po prvi puta, fekunditet P. clavata u Jadranu i njegovu prostornu varijabilnost. Uzorkovanje je provedeno u svibnju 2010. godine na četiri lokacije duž istočnog Jadrana. U istraživanim populacijama fekunditet ženskih kolonija je varirao od 11.59 do 20.72, a prosječan volumen gonada po polipu od 176.95*106 do 318.73*106 μm3. Fekunditet muških kolonija je varirao od 18.43 do 37.89, a prosječan volumen gonada po polipu od 46.44*106 do 78.93*106 μm3. Zabilježena je značajna prostorna varijabilnost muškog fekunditeta između populacija te muškog i žensko fekunditeta između regija. Nije utvrđena značajna prostorna varijabilnost prosječnog volumena gonada po polipu. U većini populacija omjer spolova nije značajno odstupao od 1:1, ali je zabilježen i omjer 2:1 u korist muških kolonija. Pojava hermafroditizma bila je zanemariva. Te su reproduktivne karakteristike u skladu s karakteristikama ostalih mediteranskih populacija crvene gorgonije. Paramuricea clavata is the key species in the Mediterranean hard bottoms communities, in which it contributes significantly to the biomass and structural complexity. The aim of this research was to determine, for the first time, the fecundity of P.clavata in the Adriatic Sea and its spatial variability. The sampling was conducted in May 2010 at four locations along the eastern Adriatic coast. In the studied populations fecundity of female colonies varied from 11.59 to 20.72 and the average gonadal volume per polyp from 176.95*106 to 318.73*106 µm3. The fecundity of male colonies varied from 18.43 to 37.89 and average gonadal volume per polyp from 46.44*106 to 78.93*106 µm3. Spatial variability was observed in male fecundity among populations and in male and female fecundity between regions. There was no spatial variability of average gonadal volume per polyp. In most populations the sex ratio was not significantly different from 1:1 but it was also recorded the ratio 2:1 in favor of male colonies. The occurrence of hermaphroditism was negligible. These reproductive characteristics are in accordance with characteristics of other Mediterranean populations of red gorgonian.