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Growth and bleaching of the coral Oculina patagonica under different environmental conditions in the western Mediterranean Sea

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Abstract

The success that the putative alien species Oculina patagonica is able to survive under different environmental conditions may be benefiting its establishment and spreading along the Mediterranean Basin. Our objectives were to determine the response of this species, in terms of growth and bleaching, under different environmental conditions. Field data on colony growth and bleaching were obtained for a period of 18 months (from June 2010 to December 2011), in the Alicante Harbour (38°20′11″N, 00°29′11″W) and the Marine Protected Area of Tabarca (38°09′59″N, 00°28′56″W). Additionally, data on sedimentation rates, chlorophyll a concentration and organic matter were also collected. Moreover, the role of light over growth and bleaching of the coral was also studied with a field experiment. Our results showed that growth rates were similar among localities (eutrophic and oligotrophic environments), decreasing with increasing perimeter of the colony. Growth rates were at a minimum during cold months (13 °C) and enhanced during warm months until a threshold temperature; thereafter, bleaching was observed (>28 °C), being adverse for coral growth. In addition, light attenuation could act such as local stress, increasing the coral bleaching with the increase in seawater temperature. Our findings confirmed that O. patagonica has a broad tolerance to seawater temperature, irradiance and trophic water conditions, in addition to its ability to thrive through bleaching events, mainly in eutrophic environments, probably related to food availability.

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Acknowledgments

Authors gratefully acknowledge the staff of the Department of Marine Sciences and Applied Biology, and we wish to acknowledge the friendly cooperation of Reserve Marine of Tabarca guards (mainly to Felio Lozano), “Autoridad Portuaria” of Alicante and the General Secretariat for Maritime Fisheries. Thank also to Julie Smith for reviewing the English version. We are also grateful to the University of Alicante for awarding a predoctorate grant to Esther Rubio-Portillo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante, 03080, Alicante, Spain

    Esther Rubio-Portillo & Carlos Valle

  2. Centro de Investigación Marina (CIMAR), Universidad de Alicante - Ayuntamiento de Santa Pola, Cabo de Santa Pola s/n, Alicante, Spain

    Maite Vázquez-Luis, Andrés Izquierdo-Muñoz & Alfonso A. Ramos-Esplá

  3. Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centre Oceanogràfic de les Balears, Moll de Ponent s/n, 07015, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Maite Vázquez-Luis

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  1. Esther Rubio-Portillo
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  2. Maite Vázquez-Luis
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  5. Alfonso A. Ramos-Esplá
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Correspondence to Esther Rubio-Portillo.

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Communicated by R. Hill.

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Rubio-Portillo, E., Vázquez-Luis, M., Valle, C. et al. Growth and bleaching of the coral Oculina patagonica under different environmental conditions in the western Mediterranean Sea. Mar Biol 161, 2333–2343 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2509-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2509-4

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