ATLAS - A Trans-Atlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe
Published July 11, 2019 | Version Submitted version to the editorial Springer
Book chapter Restricted

Cold-Water Coral Associated Fauna in the Mediterranean Sea and Adjacent Areas

Creators

  • 1. Instituto Español de Oceanografía
  • 2. Oceana
  • 3. ISMAR-CNR
  • 4. Università degli Studi di Genova
  • 5. Universidad de Cádiz
  • 6. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
  • 7. ICM-CSIC
  • 8. CEAB-CSIC
  • 9. Universidad de Sevilla
  • 10. Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro,
  • 11. Università degli Studi di Catania

Description

A book chapter on the associated biodiversity of cold-water corals. Cold-water corals are recognised as a key component of Mediterranean deep-sea ecosystems but the knowledge of their associated biodiversity is still limited. To date, the fauna associated to the Central Mediterranean cold-water coral habitats is the best known (e.g. the cold-water coral provinces of Santa Maria di Leuca, Bari canyon and Strait of Sicily) but such knowledge should be extended to the whole Mediterranean Basin. The combined biodiversity censed so far for Mediterranean cold-water coral habitats and those of adjacent areas (Strait of Gibraltar-Gulf of Cádiz) includes a conspicuous number of species (ca. 520 spp.) with a high representation of sponges (ca. 90 spp.), polychaetes (ca. 90 spp.), cnidarians (ca. 80 spp.), bryozoans (ca. 75 spp.), crustaceans (ca. 60 spp.), molluscs (ca. 50 spp.), fishes (ca. 50 spp.), echinoderms (ca. 20 spp.) and brachiopods (7 spp.). Most species are not univocally linked to cold-water corals, but they benefit from the complex and diverse microhabitats provided by them. There is a clear need to continue the investigation of
Mediterranean cold-water coral habitats to fully document the faunistic inventory, biogeographic connections and functions of the many species connected to such emblematic ecoystems of the deep-sea.

Files

Restricted

The record is publicly accessible, but files are restricted to users with access.

Request access

If you would like to request access to these files, please fill out the form below.

You need to satisfy these conditions in order for this request to be accepted:

Grant users requesting a copy of the book chapter for personal use will get free access if they send a request email to jose.rueda@ieo.es. The book chapter is an edited version of the manuscript before it was published by Springer

You are currently not logged in. Do you have an account? Log in here

Additional details

Funding

ATLAS – A Trans-AtLantic Assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based Spatial management plan for Europe 678760
European Commission