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Genetic Connectivity and Conservation of Temperate and Cold-Water Habitat-Forming Corals

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Book cover Marine Animal Forests

Abstract

Recent explorations of rocky habitats from 40 to about 6,000 m depth disclosed the role of gorgonian and scleractinian corals as habitat formers in tropical, temperate, and polar deep waters. Deep biogenic habitats host high species richness and complexity and their conservation requires a profound understanding of biological and ecological features of sessile species inhabiting them, such as the habitat-forming corals. In sessile species, earliest life history stages and larval processes (e.g., reproduction mode, larval development, behavior, and feeding mode) ensure the exchange of individuals within and among subpopulations, supporting species and habitat resistance and resilience. Genetic studies allow investigating larval processes when direct observations cannot be used. Parameters such as genetic connectivity, gene flow, and levels of genetic diversity are essential to monitor health and resilience of populations under current and future scenarios of anthropogenic environmental changes. In this chapter a review of studies on genetic connectivity of temperate and cold-water habitat-forming corals and associated invertebrate species will be presented. Among them, two case studies, Desmophyllum dianthus, a deep-sea worldwide-distributed scleractinian, and Corallium rubrum, a harvested Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic alcyonacean with a wide bathymetric distribution, will be discussed in detail. This chapter will also show how these studies contributed to develop, implement, and recommend future conservation strategies and management plans. Existing gaps in literature on genetic connectivity of habitat-forming corals and other invertebrates have been also stressed and discussed. Finally, a conceptual framework for optimizing and planning effective studies on genetic connectivity is provided, including general recommendations on sampling design, key species and new molecular markers to use with a special emphasis on the “next-generation” DNA sequencing technologies.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Lophelia pertusa is a junior synonym of recently reassigned scientific name of Desmophyllum pertusum (see Addamo et al. 2016). Although it should be consistent with using the species name D. pertusum, authors decide to maintain the name L. pertusa in the main text in order to be coherent with other chapters and do not confuse the reader.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche ed Ambientali (BiGeA) & Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali (CIRSA), University of Bologna, ULR CoNISMa, Via S. Alberto 163, I-48123, Ravenna, Italy

    Federica Costantini & Marco Abbiati

  2. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Anna Maria Addamo & Annie Machordom

  3. ISMAR, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto di Scienze Marine, Bologna, Italy

    Marco Abbiati

Authors
  1. Federica Costantini
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  2. Anna Maria Addamo
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  3. Annie Machordom
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  4. Marco Abbiati
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Federica Costantini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Environmental Science & Technology Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain

    Sergio Rossi

  2. LECOB / Ocean Observatory CNRS / Pierre and Marie Curie University, Banyuls-sur-mer, France

    Lorenzo Bramanti

  3. Dept. Marine Biology & Oceanography, Institute of Marine Sciences, Barcelona, Spain

    Andrea Gori

  4. Balearic Oceanographic Centre Spanish Institute of Oceanography, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Covadonga Orejas Saco del Valle

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Costantini, F., Addamo, A.M., Machordom, A., Abbiati, M. (2016). Genetic Connectivity and Conservation of Temperate and Cold-Water Habitat-Forming Corals. In: Rossi, S., Bramanti, L., Gori, A., Orejas Saco del Valle, C. (eds) Marine Animal Forests. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17001-5_32-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17001-5_32-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17001-5

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