Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-30T23:14:56.844Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Geographic distribution of Astroides calycularis (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae) as a baseline to assess future human impacts on the Southern Iberian Peninsula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2015

Alejandro Terrón-Sigler ,
David León-Muez ,
Patricio Peñalver-Duque ,
Rafael Gálvez-César  and
Free Espinosa Torre
Alejandro Terrón-Sigler*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes 6, 41012 Sevilla, España Asociación Hombre y Territorio, C/ Betania n° 13. CP. 41007 Sevilla, España http://www.hombreyterritorio.org
David León-Muez
Affiliation:
Asociación Hombre y Territorio, C/ Betania n° 13. CP. 41007 Sevilla, España http://www.hombreyterritorio.org
Patricio Peñalver-Duque
Affiliation:
Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes 6, 41012 Sevilla, España Asociación Hombre y Territorio, C/ Betania n° 13. CP. 41007 Sevilla, España http://www.hombreyterritorio.org
Rafael Gálvez-César
Affiliation:
Asociación Hombre y Territorio, C/ Betania n° 13. CP. 41007 Sevilla, España http://www.hombreyterritorio.org
Free Espinosa Torre
Affiliation:
Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes 6, 41012 Sevilla, España
*
Correspondence should be addressed to:A. Terrón-Sigler, Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes 6, 41012-Sevilla, Spain email: terronsigler@hombreyterritorio.org
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Human activities have increasingly affected biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea. Data on the distribution and abundance of species allows researchers to assess the possible degradation of wild populations. These data could act as a baseline to assess the magnitude of the effects of human activities on a bioindicator species. The distribution and relative abundance of the south-western populations of the endemic Astroides calycularis in the South Iberian Peninsula were studied to establish a baseline for future studies. The rocky shoreline was studied at a depth range of 0–12 m, including more than 650 km of Spain's Andalusian coastline. The species was present in 135 of the 585 dive points sampled. ANOVA analysis showed differences in depth in the four provinces studied, and there was no interaction between the two factors. As human activities on the Mediterranean coast are reducing the A. calycularis populations, a baseline on marine populations is greatly recommended for monitoring, assessment, and management studies, especially for endangered or bioindicator species. This baseline could be useful as a reference tool to assess the effects of human activities on marine biodiversity, including global change.

Keywords

Astroides calycularisbaselinegeographic distributionabundanceendangered speciesMediterranean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 96 , Issue 5 , August 2016 , pp. 1181 - 1189
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Airoldi, L. and Beck, M.W. (2007) Loss, status and trends for coastal marine habitats of Europe. Oceanography and Marine Biology – An Annual Review 45, 345–405.Google Scholar
Allison, G.W., Lubchenco, J. and Carr, M.H. (1998) Marine reserves are necessary but not sufficient for marine conservation. Ecological Applications 8 (Suppl.), 79–92.Google Scholar
Bavestrello, G., Bertone, S., Cattaneo-Vietti, R., Cerrano, C., Gaino, E. and Zanzi, D. (1994) Mass mortality of Paramuricea clavata (Anthozoa, Cnidaria) on Portofino Promontory cliffs, Ligurian Sea, Mediterranean Sea. Marine Life 4, 15–19.Google Scholar
Benedetti-Cecchi, L., Airoldi, L., Abbiati, M. and Cinelli, F. (1996) Estimating the abundance of benthic invertebrates: a comparison of procedures and variability between observers. Marine Ecology Progress Series 138, 93–101.Google Scholar
Bensoussan, N., Romano, J.C., Harmelin, J.G. and Garrabou, J. (2010) High resolution characterization of northwest Mediterranean coastal waters thermal regimes: to better understand responses of benthic communities to climate change. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 87, 431–441.Google Scholar
Bianchi, C.N. (2007) Biodiversity issues for the forthcoming tropical Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia 580, 7–21.Google Scholar
Bramanti, L., Vielmini, I., Rossi, S., Stefano, S. and Santangelo, G. (2011) Involvement of recreational SCUBA divers in emblematic species monitoring: the case of Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum). Journal for Nature Conservation 19, 312–318.Google Scholar
Bulleri, F. and Chapman, M.G. (2010) The introduction of coastal infrastructure as a driver of change in marine environments. Journal of Applied Ecology 47, 26–35.Google Scholar
Calvo, E., Simó, R., Coma, R., Ribes, M., Pascual, J., Sabatés, A., Gili, J.M. and Pelejero, C. (2011) Effects of climate change on Mediterranean marine ecosystems: the case of the Catalan Sea. Climate Research 50, 1–29. doi: 10.3354/cr01040.Google Scholar
Casado-Amezúa, P. (2012) Genetic assessment of population structure and connectivity in two endemic Mediterranean corals: Astroides calycularis (Pallas, 1766) and Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767) . PhD thesis. Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, España.Google Scholar
Casado-Amezúa, P., Goffredo, S., Templado, J. and Machordom, A. (2012) Genetic assessment of population structure and connectivity in the threatened Mediterranean coral Astroides calycularis (Scleractinia, Dendrophylliidae) at different spatial scales. Molecular Ecology 21, 3671–3685. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05655.x.Google Scholar
Cebrián, E., Ballesteros, E. and Canals, M. (2000) Shallow rocky bottom benthic assemblages as calcium carbonate producers in the Alboran Sea (southwestern Mediterranean). Oceanologica Acta 23, 311–322.Google Scholar
Cebrián, E. and Ballesteros, E. (2004) Zonation patterns of benthic communities in an upwelling area from the western Mediterranean (La Herradura, Alboran Sea). Scientia Marina 68, 69–84.Google Scholar
Cebrián, E., Uriz, M.J., Garrabou, J. and Ballesteros, E. (2011) Sponge mortalities in a warming Mediterranean Sea: are cyanobacteria-harboring species worse off? PLoS ONE 6, e20211.Google Scholar
Cerrano, C., Bavestrello, G., Bianchi, C.N., Cattaneo-vietti, R., Bava, S., Morganti, C., Morri, C., Picco, P., Sara, G., Schiaparelli, S., Siccardi, A. and Sponga, F. (2000) A catastrophic mass-mortality episode of gorgonians and other organisms in the Ligurian Sea (North-western Mediterranean), summer 1999. Ecology Letters 3, 284–293.Google Scholar
Chapman, M.G. (2003) Paucity of mobile species on constructed seawalls: effects of urbanization on biodiversity. Marine Ecology Progress Series 264, 21–29.Google Scholar
Coll, M., Piroddi, C., Steenbeek, J., Kascher, K., Lasram, F.B.R., Aguzzi, J., Ballesteros, E., Bianchi, C.N., Corbera, J., Dailianis, T., Danovaro, R., Estrada, M., Froglia, C., Galil, B.S., Gasol, J.M., Gertwagen, R., Gil, J., Guilhaumon, F., Kesner-Reyes, K., Kitsos, M.S., Koukouras, A., Lampadariou, N., Laxamana, E., López-Fé de la Cuadra, C.M., Lotze, H.K., Martin, D., Mouillot, D., Oro, D., Raicevich, S., Rius-Barile, J., Saiz-Salinas, J.I., San Vicente, C., Somot, S., Templado, J., Turon, X., Vafidis, D., Villanueva, R. and Voultsiadou, E. (2010) The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats. PLoS ONE 5, e11842.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coll, M., Schmidt, A., Romanuk, T. and Lotze, H.K. (2011) Food-web structure of seagrass communities across different spatial scales and human impacts. PLoS ONE 6, e22591.Google Scholar
Coma, R., Pola, E., Ribes, M. and Zabala, M. (2004) Long term assessment of the patterns of mortality of a temperate octocoral in protected and unprotected areas: a contribution to conservation and management needs. Ecological Applications 14, 1466–1478.Google Scholar
Costello, M.J., Coll, M., Danovaro, R., Halpin, P., Ojaveer, H. and Miloslavich, P. (2010) A census of marine biodiversity knowledge, resources, and future challenges. PLoS ONE 5, e12110.Google Scholar
Crisci, C., Bensoussan, N., Romano, J.C. and Garrabou, J. (2011) Temperature anomalies and mortality events in Marine communities: insights on factors behind differential mortality impacts in the NW Mediterranean. PLoS ONE 6, e23814. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023814.Google Scholar
Espinosa, F., Rivera-Ingraham, G.A., Maestre, M., González, A.R., Bazairi, H. and Gracía-Gómez, J.C. (2013) Updated global distribution of the threatened marine limpet Patella ferruginea (Gastropoda: Patellidae): an example of biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean. Fauna and Flora International, Oryx 48, 266–275. doi: 10.1017/S0030605312000580.Google Scholar
Fauvelot, C., Bertozzi, F., Constantini, F., Airoldi, L. and Abbiati, M. (2009) Lower genetic diversity in the limpet Patella caerulea on urban coastal structures compared to natural rocky habitats. Marine Biology 156, 2313–2323.Google Scholar
Francour, P., Boudouresque, C.F., Harmelin-Vivien, M., Harmelin, J.G. and Quignard, J.P. (1994) Are the Mediterranean waters becoming warmer? Information from biological indicators. Marine Pollution Bulletin 28, 523–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraschetti, S., Terlizzi, A., Micheli, F., Benedetti-Cecchi, L. and Boero, F. (2002) Marine protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea: objectives, effectiveness and monitoring. P.S.Z.N. Marine Ecology 23, 190–200.Google Scholar
Gaino, E. and Pronzato, R. (1989) Ultrastructural evidence of bacterial damage to Spongia officinalis fibres (Porifera, Demospongiae). Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 6, 67–74.Google Scholar
García-Gómez, J.C. (2007) Biota litoral y vigilancia ambiental en las Áreas Marinas Protegidas. Sevilla: Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Medio Ambiente. 193 pp.Google Scholar
Garrabou, J., Coma, R., Bensoussan, N., Bally, M., Chevaldonné, P., Cigliano, M., Diaz, D., Harmelin, J.G., Gambi, M.C., Kersting, D.K., Ledoux, J.B., Lejeusne, C., Linares, C., Marschal, C., Pérez, T., Ribes, M., Romano, J.C., Serrano, E., Teixido, N., Torrents, O., Zabala, M., Zuberer, F. and Cerrano, C. (2009) Mass mortality in Northwestern Mediterranean rocky benthic communities: effects of the 2003 heat wave. Global Change Biology 15, 1090–1103.Google Scholar
Garrabou, J., Sala, E., Arcas, A. and Zabala, M. (1998) The impact of diving on rocky sublittoral communities: a case study of a bryozoan population. Conservation Biology 12, 302–312.Google Scholar
Goffredo, S., Caroselli, E., Gasparini, G., Marconi, G., Putignano, M.T., Pazzini, C. and Zaccanti, F. (2011) Colony and polyp biometry and size structure in the orange coral Astroides calycularis (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae). Marine Biology Research 7, 272–280.Google Scholar
Goffredo, S., Caroselli, E., Mattioli, G., Pignotti, E. and Zaccanti, F. (2008) Relationships between growth, population structure and sea surface temperature in the temperate solitary coral Balanophyllia europaea (Scleractinia, Dendrophylliidae). Coral Reefs 27, 623–632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goñi, R., Quetglas, A. and Reñones, O. (2003) Size at maturity, fecundity and reproductive potential of a protected population of the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas (Fabricius, 1787) from the western Mediterranean. Marine Biology 143, 583–592. doi: 10.1007/s00227-003-1097-5.Google Scholar
Halpern, B.S. and Warner, R.R. (2003) Matching marine reserve design to reserve objectives. Proceedings of the Royal Society London, B. 270, 1871–1878.Google Scholar
Harvell, C.D., Mitchell, C.E., Ward, J.R., Altizer, S., Dobson, A.P., Ostfeld, R.S. and Samuel, M.D. (2002) Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota. Science 296, 2158–2162.Google Scholar
Katsanevakis, S., Weber, A., Pipitone, C., Leopold, M., Cronin, M., Scheidat, M., Doyle, T.K., Buhl-Mortensen, L., Buhl-Mortensen, P., D'Anna, G., de Boois, I., Dalpadado, P., Damalas, D., Fiorentino, F., Garofalo, G., Giacalone, V.M., Hawley, K.L., Issaris, Y., Jansen, J., Knight, C.M., Knittweis, L., Kröncke, I., Mirto, S., Muxika, I., Reiss, H., Skjoldal, H.R. and Vöge, S. (2012) Monitoring marine populations and communities: methods dealing with imperfect detectability. Aquatic Biology 16, 31–52. doi: 10.3354/ab00426.Google Scholar
Kersting, D.K., Bensoussan, N. and Linares, C. (2013) Long-term responses of the Endemic reef-builder Cladocora caespitosa to Mediterranean warming. PLoS ONE 8, e70820.Google Scholar
Kružic, P., Zibrowius, H. and Pozar-Domac, A. (2002) Actiniaria and Scleractinia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) from Adriatic Ser (Croatia): first records, confirmed occurrences and significant range extensions of certain species. Italian Journal Zoology 69, 345–353.Google Scholar
Linares, C., Bianchimani, O., Torrents, O., Marschal, C., Drap, P. and Garrabou, J. (2010) Marine protected areas and the conservation of long-lived invertebrates: the Mediterranean red coral. Marine Ecology Progress Series 402, 69–79.Google Scholar
Linares, C., Garrabou, J., Hereu, B., Díaz, D., Marschal, C., Sala, E. and Zabala, M. (2011) Assessing the effectiveness of Marine reserves on unsustainably harvested long-lived sessile invertebrates. Conservation Biology 26, 88–96. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01795.x.Google Scholar
Lloret, J., Marín, A., Marín-Guirado, L. and Carreño, F. (2006) An alternative approach for managing SCUBA diving in small marine protected areas. Aquatic Conservation Marine Freshwater Ecosystem 16, 579–591.Google Scholar
López-González, P.J. (1993) Taxonomía y zoogeografía de los antozoos del Estrecho de Gibraltar y áreas próximas . PhD thesis. Universidad de Sevilla, España.Google Scholar
Mangialajo, L., Chiantore, M. and Cattaneo-Vietti, R. (2008) Loss of fucoid algae along a gradient of urbanisation, and structure of benthic assemblages. Marine Ecology Progress Series 358, 63–74.Google Scholar
Maldonado, M., Sánchez-Tocino, L. and Navarro, C. (2010) Recurrent disease outbreaks in corneous demosponges of the genus Ircinia: epidemic incidence and defense mechanisms. Marine Biology 157, 1577–1590. doi: 10.1007/s00227-010-1431-7.Google Scholar
Malvárez García, G., Pollard, J. and Domínguez Rodríguez, R. (2000) Origins, management, and measurement of stress on the coast of southern Spain. Coastal Management 28, 215–234.Google Scholar
Micheli, F., Levin, N., Giakoumi, S., Katsanevakis, S., Abdulla, A., Coll, M., Fraschetti, S., Kark, S., Koutsoubas, D., Mackelworth, P., Maiorano, L. and Possingham, H.P. (2013a) Setting Priorities for regional conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea. PLoS ONE 8, e59038.Google Scholar
Micheli, F., Halpern, B.S., Walbridge, S., Ciriaco, S., Ferretti, F., Fraschetti, S., Lewison, R., Nykjaer, L. and Rosenberg, A.A. (2013b) Cumulative human impacts on Mediterranean and Black Sea Marine ecosystems: assessing current pressures and opportunities. PLoS ONE 8, e79889.Google Scholar
Moreno, D., De la Linde, A., Arroyo, M.C. and López-González, P.J. (2008) Astroides calycularis Pallas (1766). In Barea-Azcón, J.M., Ballesteros-Duperón, E. and Moreno, D. (eds) Libro Rojo de los Invertebrados de Andalucía. 4 Tomos. Sevilla: Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, pp. 281–287.Google Scholar
Moreno, D., De la Linde, A., Remón, J.M., De la Rosa, J., Arroyo, M.C., Fernández-Casado, M., Gómez, G., Barrajón, A., Gordillo, I., Nevado, J.C. and Barba, R. (2007) Programa de Gestión Sostenible de Recursos para la Conservación del Medio Marino Andaluz: Datos preliminares de los censos de especies de invertebrados amenazados. In Paracuellos, M. (ed.) Ambientes Mediterráneos. Funcionamiento, biodiversidad y conservación de los ecosistemas mediterráneos. Colección Medio Ambiente, 2. Almería: Instituto de Estudios Almerienses (Diputación de Almería), pp. 27–48.Google Scholar
Ocaña, A., Sánchez Tocino, L. and López-González, P.J. (2000) Faunistic and biogeographical observations concerning the Anthozoa (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) of the Granada coast (Sea of Alboran). Zoologica Baetica 11, 51–65.Google Scholar
Ocaña, O., Templado, A. and Templado, J. (2009) Los paisajes sumergidos de la región de Ceuta y su biodiversidad. España: Fundación Museo del Mar de Ceuta. 254 pp.Google Scholar
Perez, T., Garrabou, J., Sartoretto, S., Harmelin, J.G., Francour, P. and Vacelet, J. (2000) Mass mortality of marine invertebrates: an unprecedented event in the Northwestern Mediterranean. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences Series III Sciences de la Vie 323, 853–865.Google Scholar
Rodolfo Metalpa, R., Bianchi, C.N., Peirano, A. and Morri, C. (2000) Coral mortality in NW Mediterranean. Coral Reefs 19, 24.Google Scholar
Rossi, L. (1971) Cnidari e Ctenofori d́Italia. Cuaderni della Civica Stazione Idrobiologica di Milano 2, 77–86.Google Scholar
Sala, E., Ballesteros, E., Dendrinos, P., Di Franco, A., Ferretti, F., Foley, D., Fraschetti, S., Friedlander, A., Garrabou, J., Güçlüsoy, H., Guidetti, P., Halpern, B.S., Hereu, B., Karamanlidis, A.A., Kizilkaya, Z., Macpherson, E., Mangialajo, L., Mariani, S., Micheli, F., Pais, A., Riser, K., Rosenberg, A.A., Sales, M., Selkoe, K.A., Starr, R., Tomas, F. and Zabala, M. (2012) The structure of Mediterranean rocky reef ecosystems across environmental and human gradients, and conservation implications. PLoS ONE 7, e32742. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032742.Google Scholar
Sala, E., Garrabou, J. and Zabala, M. (1996) Effects of diver frequentation on Mediterranean sublittoral populations of the bryozoan Pentapora fascialis . Marine Biology 126, 451–459.Google Scholar
Serrano, E., Coma, R., Ribes, M., Weitzmann, B., García, M. and Ballesteros, E. (2013) Rapid northward spread of a zooxanthellate coral enhanced by artificial structures and sea warming in the Western Mediterranean. PLoS ONE 8, e52739. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052739.Google Scholar
Terrón-Sigler, A., Peñalver, P., León-Muez, D. and Espinosa, F. (2014) Spatio-temporal macrofaunal assemblages associated with the endangered orange coral Astroides calycularis (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae). Aquatic Biology 21, 143–154. doi: 10.3354/ab00577.Google Scholar
Underwood, A.J. (1997) Experiments in ecology: their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Underwood, A.J., Chapman, M.G. and Richards, S.A. (2002) GMAV-5 for Windows. An analysis of variance programme. Sydney: Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities. Marine Ecology Laboratories, University of Sydney.Google Scholar
Vargas-Yáñez, M., García, M.J., Salat, J., García-Martínez, M.C., Pascual, J. and Moya, F. (2008) Warming trends and decadal variability in the Western Mediterranean shelf. Global Planetary Change 63, 177–184.Google Scholar
Vezzulli, L., Previati, M., Pruzzo, C., Marchese, A., Gourne, D.G. and Cerrano, C. (2010) Vibrio infections triggering mass mortality events in a warming Mediterranean Sea. Environmental Microbiology 12, 2007–2019. doi: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02209.x.Google Scholar
Wielgus, J., Chadwick-Furman, N.E., Dubinsky, Z., Shechter, M. and Zeitouni, N. (2002) Dose-response modeling of recreationally important coral reef attributes: a review and potential application to the economic valuation of damage. Coral Reefs 21, 253–259.Google Scholar
Zibrowius, H. (1978) Les Scléractiniaires des grottes sous-marines en Méditerranée et dans l'Atlantique nord-oriental (Portugal, Madeíre, Canaries, Açores). Pubblicazioni della Stazione zoologica di Napoli 40, 516–545.Google Scholar
Zibrowius, H. (1980) Les Scléractiniaires de la Méditerranée et de l`Atlantique nord-oriental. Mémoires de l'Institut Océanographique, Monaco 11, 1–284.Google Scholar
Zibrowius, H. (1995) The southern Astroides calycularis in the Pleistocene of the Northern Mediterranean – an indicator of climatic changes (Cnidaria, Scleractinia). Geobios 28, 9–16.Google Scholar