Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Marine Animal Forests pp 1–33Cite as

Diversity and Evolution of Octocoral Animal Forests at Both Sides of Tropical America

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

Abstract

Octocoral animal forests (Gorgoniidae and Plexauridae: Octocorallia) at both sides of tropical America provide a unique and characteristic seascape. They can reach over 2 m in height and even form a closed “canopy” in the densest communities. As a functional forest, gorgonian corals provide feeding substrate and habitat for diverse associated biota. This shallow-water fauna was evidently affected by the closure of the Isthmus of Panama, which provided new and different ecological opportunities at both sides. The different ecological settings provided opportunities for these groups to undergo separate adaptive radiations. New ecological conditions could lead to diversification in this group. At the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP), new planktonic resources provided new niches for suspension-feeding organisms, such as azooxanthellated gorgonian corals, and could have driven an adaptive radiation to exploit the new food sources. In the Caribbean, there is evidence of ecological speciation in some genera, and the scenario of ecological divergence as a major driver of gorgonian coral diversification is very likely. Thus far, the developmental phenotypic plasticity that we see today in transisthmian gorgonian corals is not just the product of speciation but adaptive developmental plasticity, and it needs further study. Gorgonian corals are today affected by many of the stressors predicted by global change, such as an increase in the frequency and intensity of tropical storms, rising seawater temperatures, and invasive species, yet these cnidarians seem highly resilient to bleaching and ocean acidification conditions. However, there is a link between high thermal anomalies and gorgonian coral immunity, which is associated to disease outbreaks and mass mortalities in sea fans in the Caribbean since the 1980s and more recently in the TEP.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Abeytia R, Guzman HM, Breedy O. Species composition and bathymetric distribution of gorgonians (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) on the Southern Mexican Pacific coast. Rev Biol Trop. 2013;61(3):1157–66.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar C, Sanchez JA. Phylogenetic hypotheses of gorgoniid octocorals according to ITS2 and their predicted RNA secondary structures. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2007;43:774–86.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Albins M, Hixon M. Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans reduce recruitment of Atlantic coral-reef fishes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2008;367:233–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albins MA, Hixon MA. Worst case scenario: potential long-term effects of invasive predatory lionfish (Pterois volitans) on Atlantic and Caribbean coral-reef communities. Environ Biol Fishes. 2013;96(10–11):1151–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alcolado PM. Zonación de los gorgonáceos someros de Cuba y su posible uso como indicadores comparativos de tensión hidrodinámica sobre los organismos del bentos. Inf Cient- Téc Inst Ocean Acad Cien Cuba. 1981;187:1–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alcolado PM. Sinonimia de Plexaurella fusifera Kunze, 1916, con P. dichotoma (Esper, 1791) (Coelenterata: Gorgonacea). Poeyana. 1985;294:1–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alker AP, Smith GW, Kim K. Characterization of Aspergillus sydowii (Thom et Church), a fungal pathogen of Caribbean sea fan corals. Hydrobiologia. 2001;460(1–3):105–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ament-Velásquez SL, Breedy O, Cortés J, Guzman HM, Wörheide G, Vargas S. Homoplasious colony morphology and mito-nuclear phylogenetic discordance among Eastern Pacific octocorals. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2016;98:373–81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andras JP, Kirk NL, Drew Harvell C. Range-wide population genetic structure of Symbiodinium associated with the Caribbean sea fan coral, Gorgonia ventalina. Mol Ecol. 2011;20(12):2525–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andras JP, Rypien KL, Harvell CD. Range-wide population genetic structure of the Caribbean sea fan coral, Gorgonia ventalina. Mol Ecol. 2013;22(1):56–73.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aronson RB. Foraging behavior of the west Atlantic trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculatus: use of large, herbivorous reef fishes as camouflage. Bull Mar Sci. 1983;33(1):166–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker DM, Freeman CJ, Knowlton N, Thacker RW, Kim K, Fogel ML. Productivity links morphology, symbiont specificity and bleaching in the evolution of Caribbean octocoral symbioses. ISME J. [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2016 Apr 24]; Available from: http://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ismej201571a.html

  • Bakun A, Field DB, Redondo-Rodriguez ANA, Weeks SJ. Greenhouse gas, upwelling-favorable winds, and the future of coastal ocean upwelling ecosystems. Glob Chang Biol. 2010;16(4):1213–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrero-Canosa J, Dueñas LF, Sánchez JA. Isolation of potential fungal pathogens in gorgonian corals at the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Coral Reefs. 2012;32:35–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayer FM. The shallow water Octocorallia of the West Indian region. The Hague: Martinus Nijoff; 1961.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beasley SE, Dardeau MR, Schroeder WW. Reproductive biology of the gorgonian Leptoprgia hebes (verrill). 2003 [cited 2016 Apr 23]; Available from: http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/4735

  • Ben-David J, Kritzer JP. Early life history and settlement of the slender filefish, Monacanthus tuckeri (Monacanthidae), at Calabash Caye, Turneffe Atoll, Belize. Environ Biol Fishes. 2005;73(3):275–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilewitch JP, Coates KA, Currie DC, Trapido-Rosenthal HG. Molecular and morphological variation supports monotype of the octocoral Briareum Blainville, 1830 (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) in the Western Atlantic. Proc Biol Soc Wash. 2010;123(2):93–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birkeland C. The effect of wave action on the population dynamics of Gorgonia ventalina Linnaeus. Stud Trop Oceanogr. 1974;12:115–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boller ML, Swain TD, Lasker HR. Skeletal morphology and material properties of a fragmenting gorgonian coral. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2002;228:131–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bongaerts P, Carmichael M, Hay KB, Tonk L, Frade PR, Hoegh-Guldberg O. Prevalent endosymbiont zonation shapes the depth distributions of scleractinian coral species. R Soc Open Sci. 2015;2(2):140297.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen BW, Rocha LA, Toonen RJ, Karl SA. The origins of tropical marine biodiversity. Trends Ecol Evol. 2013;28(6):359–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brazeau DA, Harvell CD. Genetic structure of local populations and divergence between growth forms in a clonal invertebrate, the Caribbean octocoral Briareum asbestinum. Mar Biol. 1994;119(1):53–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brazeau DA, Lasker HR. Reproductive success in the Caribbean octocoral Briareum asbestinum. Mar Biol. 1992a;114(1):157–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brazeau DA, Lasker HR. Growth rates and growth strategy in a clonal marine invertebrate, the Caribbean octocoral Briareum asbestinum. Biol Bull. 1992b;183(2):269–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Cortés J. Octocorals (Coelenterata: Anthozoa: Octocorallia) of Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop. 2008;56 Suppl 2:71–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Cortés J. Shallow water gorgonians (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) from the North Pacific of Costa Rica. Int J Trop Biol Conserv. 2015;62(4):43–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman HM. A revision of the genus Pacifigorgia (Coelenterata: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae). Proc Biol Soc Wash. 2002;115(4):782–839.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman HM. Octocorals from Costa Rica: the genus Pacifigorgia (Coelenterata: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae). Auckland: Magnolia Press; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman H. A revision of the genus Muricea Lamouroux, 1821 (Anthozoa, Octocorallia) in the eastern Pacific. Part II. ZooKeys. 2016;581:1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruno JF, Ellner SP, Vu I, Kim K, Harvell CD. Impacts of Aspergillosis on sea fan coral demography: modeling a moving target. Ecol Monogr. 2011;81(1):123–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burge CA, Kim CJS, Lyles JM, Harvell CD. Special issue oceans and humans health: the ecology of marine opportunists. Microb Ecol. 2013;65(4):869–79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burkepile DE, Hay ME. Predator release of the gastropod Cyphoma gibbosum increases predation on gorgonian corals. Oecologia. 2007;154(1):167–73.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cadena NJ, Sánchez JA. Colony growth in the harvested octocoral Pseudopterogorgia acerosa in a Caribbean coral reef. Mar Ecol. 2010;31:566–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cadena N, Rey C, Hernández-Hoyos M, Sánchez JA, Teillaud S, Ardila N, et al. Linking local to global properties in branching modular networks: gorgonian coral colonies. Mar Biol. 2010;157:1003–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calcinai B, Bavestrello G, Cerrano C. Dispersal and association of two alien species in the Indonesian coral reefs: the octocoral Carijoa riisei and the demosponge Desmapsamma anchorata. J Mar Biol Assoc U K. 2004;84:937–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cantera JR, Von Prahl H, Neira R. Moluscos, crustáceos y equinodermos asociados a la gorgona Lophogorgia alba Duchassaing y Michelotti, 1864 en la Isla de Gorgona. Colomb Bol Ecotrop. 1987;17:3–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiappone M, Dienes H, Swanson DW, Miller SL. Density and gorgonian host-occupation patterns by flamingo tongue snails (Cyphoma gibbosum) in the Florida Keys. Caribb J Sci. 2003;39(1):116–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Church JA, Clark PU, Cazenave A, Gregory JM, Jevrejeva S, Levermann A, et al. Sea level change [Internet]. PM Cambridge University Press; 2013. Available from: http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/4605

  • Coates AG, Jackson JB, Collins LS, Cronin TM, Dowsett HJ, Bybell LM, et al. Closure of the Isthmus of Panama: the near-shore marine record of Costa Rica and western Panama. Geol Soc Am Bull. 1992;104(7):814–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coffroth MA, Lasker HR. Population structure of a clonal gorgonian coral: the interplay between clonal reproduction and disturbance. Evolution. 1998;52:379–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Correa H, Haltli B, Duque C, Kerr R. Bacterial communities of the gorgonian octocoral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Microb Ecol. 2013;66(4):972–85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Couch CS, Mydlarz LD, Harvell CD, Douglas NL. Variation in measures of immunocompetence of sea fan coral, Gorgonia ventalina, in the Florida Keys. Mar Biol. 2008;155(3):281–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De’ath G, Lough JM, Fabricius KE. Declining coral calcification on the Great Barrier Reef. Science. 2009;323(5910):116–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Devictor ST, Morton SL. Identification guide to the shallow water (0–200 m) octocorals of the South Atlantic Bight. Zootaxa. 2010;2599:1–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diaz JM, Sánchez JA, Garzon-Ferreira J, Zea S. Morphology and marine habitats from two southwestern Caribbean atolls: Albuquerque and Courtown. Atoll Res Bull. 1996;435:1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dustan P, Halas JC. Changes in the reef-coral community of Carysfort Reef, Key Largo, Florida: 1974 to 1982. Coral Reefs. 1987;6(2):91–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eakin CM, Morgan JA, Heron SF, Smith TB, Liu G, Alvarez-Filip L, et al. Caribbean corals in crisis: record thermal stress, bleaching, and mortality in 2005. PLoS One. 2010;5(11):e13969.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Enochs IC, Manzello DP, Wirshing HH, Carlton R, Serafy J. Micro-CT analysis of the Caribbean octocoral Eunicea flexuosa subjected to elevated p CO2. ICES J Mar Sci J Cons. 2016;73(3):910–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esford LE, Lewis JC. Stiffness of Caribbean gorgonians(Coelenterata, Octocorallia) and Ca/Mg content of their axes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser Oldendorf. 1990a;6(2):189–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esford LE, Lewis JC. Mechanical properties of Caribbean gorgonians (Coelenterata, Octocorallia). Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 1990b;67:189–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etnoyer PJ, Wirshing HH, Sánchez JA. Rapid assessment of octocoral diversity and habitat on Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles. PLoS One. 2010;5:e10668.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fabricius KK, Alderslade PP. Soft corals and sea fans: a comprehensive guide to the tropical shallow water genera of the central-west Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS); 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fantazzini P, Mengoli S, Pasquini L, Bortolotti V, Brizi L, Mariani M, et al. Gains and losses of coral skeletal porosity changes with ocean acidification acclimation. Nat Commun. 2015;6:7785.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Álamo MA, Färber-Lorda J. Zooplankton and the oceanography of the eastern tropical Pacific: a review. Prog Oceanogr. 2006;69(2–4):318–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster NL, Paris CB, Kool JT, Baums IB, Stevens JR, Sanchez JA, et al. Connectivity of Caribbean coral populations: complementary insights from empirical and modelled gene flow. Mol Ecol. 2012;21:1143–57.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foster NL, Baums IB, Sanchez JA, Paris CB, Chollett I, Agudelo CL, et al. Hurricane-driven patterns of clonality in an ecosystem engineer: the Caribbean coral Montastraea annularis. PLoS One. 2013;8:e53283.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gabay Y, Benayahu Y, Fine M. Does elevated p CO 2 affect reef octocorals? Ecol Evol. 2013;3(3):465–73.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gabay Y, Fine M, Barkay Z, Benayahu Y. Octocoral tissue provides protection from declining oceanic pH. PLoS One. 2014;9(4):e91553.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gambrel B, Lasker HR. Interactions in the canopy among Caribbean reef octocorals. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2016;546:85–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner TA, Cote IM, Gill JA, Grant A, Watkinson AR. Hurricanes and Caribbean coral reefs: impacts, recovery patterns, and role in long-term decline. 2008 [cited 2016 Apr 24]; Available from: https://www.esajournals.org/doi/full/10.1890/04-0141

  • Garzón-Ferreira J, Zea S. Mass mortality of Gorgonian ventalina (Cnidaria: Gorgoniidae) in the Santa Marta area, Caribbean coast of Colombia. Bull Mar Sci. 1992;50(1):522–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gattuso J-P, Magnan A, Bille R, Cheung WWL, Howes EL, Joos F, et al. Contrasting futures for ocean and society from different anthropogenic CO2 emissions scenarios. Science. 2015;349(6243):aac4722.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gladfelter WB. White-band disease in Acropora palmata: implications for the structure and growth of shallow reefs. Bull Mar Sci. 1982;32:639–643.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffredo S, Lasker HR. Modular growth of a gorgonian coral can generate predictable patterns of colony growth. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 2006;336(2):221–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goffredo S, Lasker HR. An adaptive management approach to an octocoral fishery based on the Beverton-Holt model. Coral Reefs. 2008;27:751–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldenberg SB, Landsea CW, Mestas-Nuñez AM, Gray WM. The recent increase in Atlantic hurricane activity: causes and implications. Science. 2001;293(5529):474–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez CE, Paul VJ, Ritson-Williams R, Muehllehner N, Langdon C, Sánchez JA. Responses of the tropical gorgonian coral Eunicea fusca to ocean acidification conditions. Coral Reefs. 2015;34(2):451–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez CG, Guzman HM, Gonzalez A, Breedy O. Survival, growth, and recruitment of octocoral species (Coelenterata: Octocorallia) in Coiba National Park, Pacific Panama. Bull Mar Sci. 2014;90(2):623–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ. Determinants of recruitment, juvenile growth, and spatial distribution of a shallow-water gorgonian. Ecology. 1988;69(1):157–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ. Demographic models for Leptogorgia virgulata, a shallow-water gorgonian. Ecology. 1991;72(2):457–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goulet TL, Coffroth MA. The genetic identity of dinoflagellate symbionts in Caribbean octocorals. Coral Reefs. 2004;23(4):465–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grajales A, Aguilar C, Sánchez JA. Phylogenetic reconstruction using secondary structures of internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2, rDNA): finding the molecular and morphological gap in Caribbean gorgonian corals. BMC Evol Biol. 2007;7:90.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grasshoff M. The genus Leptogorgia (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) in West Africa. Atlantide Rep. 1988;14:91–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grigg RW. Growth rings: annual periodicity in two gorgonian corals. Ecology. 1974;55(4):876–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grigg RW. Age structure of a longevous coral: a relative index of habitat suitability and stability. Am Nat. 1975;109:647–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grigg RW. Population dynamics of two gorgonian corals. Ecology. 1977;58(2):278–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grigg RW. Reproductive ecology of two species of gorgonian corals: relations to vertical and geographical distribution. Reprod Ecol Mar Invertebr. 1979;9:41–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gutiérrez-Rodríguez C, Lasker HR. Reproductive biology, development, and planula behavior in the Caribbean gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Invertebr Biol. 2004;123(1):54–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutierrez-Rodriguez C, Hannes AR, Lasker HR. Microsatellite variation reveals high levels of genetic variability and population structure in the gorgonian coral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae across the Bahamas. Mol Ecol. 2005;14(13):4205–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutierrez-Rodriguez C, Barbeitos MS, Sanchez JA, Lasker HR. Phylogeography and morphological variation of the branching octocoral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2009;50:1–15.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guzmán HM, Cortés J. Mortandad de Gorgonia flabellum Linnaeus. Rev Biol Trop. 1984;32(2):304–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guzman HM, Benfield S, Breedy O, Mair JM. Broadening reef protection across the marine conservation corridor of the Eastern Tropical Pacific: distribution and diversity of reefs in Las Perlas Archipelago, Panama. Environ Conserv [Internet]. 2008 [cited 2016 Apr 12];35(1). Available from: http://www.journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0376892908004542

  • Harvell D, Aronson R, Baron N, Connell J, Dobson A, Ellner S, et al. The rising tide of ocean diseases: unsolved problems and research priorities. Front Ecol Environ. 2004;2:375–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewson I, Brown JM, Burge CA, Couch CS, LaBarre BA, Mouchka ME, et al. Description of viral assemblages associated with the Gorgonia ventalina holobiont. Coral Reefs. 2012;31(2):487–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoegh-Guldberg O, Mumby PJ, Hooten AJ, Steneck RS, Greenfield P, Gomez E, et al. Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science. 2007;318(5857):1737–42.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Inoue S, Kayanne H, Yamamoto S, Kurihara H. Spatial community shift from hard to soft corals in acidified water. Nat Clim Change. 2013;3(7):683–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson JBC. Competition on marine hard substrata: the adaptive significance of solitary and colonial strategies. Am Nat. 1977;111:743–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahng SE, Grigg RW. Impact of an alien octocoral, Carijoa riisei, on black corals in Hawaii. Coral Reefs. 2005;24:556–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahng S, Benayahu Y, Lasker H. Sexual reproduction in octocorals. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2011;443:265–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim K, Lasker HR. Flow-mediated resource competition in the suspension feeding gorgonian Plexaura homomalla (Esper). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 1997;215(1):49–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim E, Lasker HR, Coffroth MA, Kim K. Morphological and genetic variation across reef habitats in a broadcast-spawning octocoral. Kluwer; 2004. 423–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinzie RA. The zonation of West Indian gorgonians. Bull Mar Sci. 1973;23:93–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lande R. Evolution of phenotypic plasticity in colonizing species. Mol Ecol. 2015;24(9):2038–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR. Prey preferences and browsing pressure of the butterflyfish Chaetodon capistratus on Caribbean gorgonians. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 1985;21(3):213–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR. Clonal propagation and population dynamics of a gorgonian coral. Ecology. 1990;71:1578–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR. Zooxanthella densities within a Caribbean octocoral during bleaching and non-bleaching years. Coral Reefs. 2003;22(1):23–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR. Recruitment and resilience of a harvested Caribbean octocoral. PLoS One. 2013;8:e74587.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR, Coffroth MA. Octocoral distributions at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 1983;13:21–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR, Coffroth MA. Responses of Clonal Reef Taxa to environmental change. Am Zool. 1999;39:92–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR, Porto-Hannes I. Population structure among octocoral adults and recruits identifies scale dependent patterns of population isolation in The Bahamas. PeerJ. 2015;3:e1019.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR, Sánchez JA. Allometry and astogeny of modular organisms. In: Hughes RN, editor. Reproductive biology of invertebrates. New York: Wiley; 2002. p. 207–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasker HR, Boller ML, Castanaro J, Sánchez JA. Modularity and determinate growth in a gorgonian coral. Biol Bull. 2003;205:319–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lei H. Diterpenoids of gorgonian corals: chemistry and bioactivity. Chem Biodivers. 2016;13(4):345–65.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lenz EA, Bramanti L, Lasker HR, Edmunds PJ. Long-term variation of octocoral populations in St. John, US Virgin Islands. Coral Reefs. 2015;34(4):1099–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lessios HA, Robertson DR, Cubit JD. Spread of Diadema mass mortality through the Caribbean. Science. 1984;226(4672):335–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis CL, Coffroth MA. The acquisition of exogenous algal symbionts by an octocoral after bleaching. Science. 2004;304(5676):1490–2.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis JC, Wallis EV. The function of surface sclerites in gorgonians (Coelenterata, Octocorallia). Biol Bull. 1991;181:275–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz F, Fehse D. The living Ovulidae: a manual of the families of allied cowries: Ovulidae, Pediculariidae and Eocypraeidae. Hackenheim: ConchBooks; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller AW, Richardson LL. Emerging coral diseases: a temperature-driven process? Mar Ecol. 2015;36(3):278–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mora C, Ospina A. Tolerance to high temperatures and potential impact of sea warming on reef fishes of Gorgona Island (tropical eastern Pacific). Mar Biol. 2001;139(4):765–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morales Pinzon A, Orkisz M, Rodriguez Useche CM, Torres Gonzalez JS, Teillaud S, Sanchez JA, et al. A semi-automatic method to extract canal pathways in 3D micro-CT images of Octocorals. PLoS One. 2014;9:e85557.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mydlarz LD, Jones LE, Harvell CD. Innate immunity, environmental drivers, and disease ecology of marine and freshwater invertebrates. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst. 2006;37:251–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagelkerken I, Buchan K, Smith GW, Bonair K, Bush P, Garzon-Ferreira J, et al. Widespread disease in Caribbean sea fans: I. Spreading and general characteristics. Proc 8th Int Coral Reef Symp. 1997;1:679–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neira O, Barba R, Pardo A. Equinodermos del Parque Nacional Natural Ensenada de Utría (Pacífico colombiano). Bol Investig Mar Costeras-INVEMAR. 1992;21(1):77–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neira R, Cantera JR, others. Composición taxonómica y distribución de las asociaciones de equinodermos en los ecosistemas litorales del Pacífico Colombiano. Rev Biol Trop. 2005;53(3):195–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nosil P. Ecological speciation. Oxford: OUP; 2012.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson JE, Coffroth MA, LaJeunesse TC. New species of Clade B Symbiodinium (Dinophyceae) from the greater Caribbean belong to different functional guilds: S. aenigmaticum sp. nov., S. antillogorgium sp. nov., S. endomadracis sp. nov., and S. pseudominutum sp. nov. J Phycol. 2015;51(5):850–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perez CD, Neves BM, Oliveira DH. New records of octocorals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from the Brazilian coast. Aquat Biol. 2011;13(3):203–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poland DM, Mansfield JM, Hannes AR, Fairbank Lewis CL, Shearer TL, Connelly SJ, et al. Variation in Symbiodinium communities in juvenile Briareum asbestinum (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) over temporal and spatial scales. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2013;476:23–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prada C, Hellberg ME. Long prereproductive selection and divergence by depth in a Caribbean candelabrum coral. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2013;110:3961–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Prada C, Schizas NV, Yoshioka PM. Phenotypic plasticity or speciation? A case from a clonal marine organism. BMC Evol Biol. 2008;8:47.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prada C, Weil E, Yoshioka PM. Octocoral bleaching during unusual thermal stress. Coral Reefs. 2010;29:41–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prada C, McIlroy SE, Beltrán DM, Valint DJ, Ford SA, Hellberg ME, et al. Cryptic diversity hides host and habitat specialization in a gorgonian-algal symbiosis. Mol Ecol. 2014;23(13):3330–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Previati M, Scinto A, Cerrano C, Osinga R. Oxygen consumption in Mediterranean octocorals under different temperatures. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 2010;390(1):39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Privitera-Johnson K, Lenz EA, Edmunds PJ. Density-associated recruitment in octocoral communities in St. John, US Virgin Islands. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 2015;473:103–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putra SA, Damar A, Samosir AM. Colonization of coral communities in the Krakatau Islands strict marine nature reserve, Indonesia (Kolonisasi Komunitas Karang di Kepulanan Krakatau). ILMU Kelaut. Indones J Mar Sci. 2014;19(2):63–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn NJ, Kojis BL. The recent collapse of a rapid phase-shift reversal on a Jamaican north coast coral reef after the 2005 bleaching event. Int J Trop Biol Conserv. [Internet]. 2007 [cited 2016 Apr 24];56. Available from: http://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/5584

  • Ramos GE. Neopontonides henryvonprahli, una nueva especie de camarón pontoníno del Pacífico de Colombia (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) simbionte de las gorgonias Muricea robusta y Lophogorgia alba. Int J Trop Biol Conserv. 2015;43(1–3):231–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reijnen BT, Hoeksema BW, Gittenberger E. Host specificity and phylogenetic relationships among Atlantic Ovulidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Contrib Zool. 2010;79(2):69–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz Allais JP, Amaro ME, McFadden CS, et al. Coral Reefs. 2014;33:287. doi:10.1007/s00338-013-1122-1, http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-013-1122-1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rundle HD, Nosil P. Ecological speciation. Ecol Lett. 2005;8(3):336–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutterford LA, Simpson SD, Jennings S, Johnson MP, Blanchard JL, Schön P-J, et al. Future fish distributions constrained by depth in warming seas. Nat Clim Chang. 2015;5(6):569–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez JA. Black coral-octocoral distribution patterns on Imelda Bank, a deep-water reef, Colombia, Caribbean Sea. Bull Mar Sci. 1999;65:215–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez JA. Evolution and dynamics of branching colonial form in marine modular cnidarians: gorgonian octocorals. Hydrobiologia. 2004;530:283–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez JA. A new genus of Atlantic octocorals (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae): systematics of gorgoniids with asymmetric sclerites. J Nat Hist. 2007;41:493–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA. Systematics of the candelabrum gorgonian corals (Eunicea Lamouroux; Plexauridae; Octocorallia; Cnidaria). Zool J Linn Soc. 2009;157(2):237–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA. Coral Reefs. 2013;32:891. doi:10.1007/s00338-013-1049-6

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Ballesteros D. The invasive snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei) in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, Colombia. Rev Biol Trop. 2014;62:197–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Lasker H. Do multi-branched colonial organisms exceed normal growth after partial mortality? Proc R Soc B Biol Sci. 2004;271 Suppl 3:S117–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Pizarro V. Evaluating coral reef benthic communities in remote Caribbean atolls(Quitasueno, Serrana, and Roncador Banks) to recommend marine-protected areas for the seaflower biosphere reserve. Atoll Res Bull. 2005;531:1–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Wirshing HH. A field key to the identification of tropical Western Atlantic zooxanthelate octocorals. (Octocorallia: Cnidaria). Caribb J Sci. 2005;41:508–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez JA, Diaz JM, Zea S. Gorgonian communities in two contrasting environments on oceanic atolls of the southwestern Caribbean. Bull Mar Sci. 1997;61:453–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez JA, McFadden CS, France SC, Lasker HR. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of shallow-water Caribbean octocorals. Mar Biol. 2003;142:975–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez JA, Lasker HR, Nepomuceno EG, Sanchez JD, Woldenberg MJ. Branching and self-organization in marine modular colonial organisms: a model. Am Nat. 2004;163:E24–39.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Pizarro V, Acosta ARS, Catillo PA, Herron P, Martínez JC, et al. Evaluating coral reef benthic communities in remote Caribbean atolls (Quitasueño, Serrana, and Roncador banks) to recommend marine-protected areas for the seaflower biosphere reserve. 2005. Atoll Research Bulletin 531: 1–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Aguilar C, Dorado D, Manrique N. Phenotypic plasticity and morphological integration in a marine modular invertebrate. BMC Evol Biol. 2007;7:122.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Gómez CE, Escobar D, Dueñas LF. Diversidad, abundancia y amenazas de los octocorales de la isla Malpelo, Pacífico Oriental Tropical, Colombia. Bol Investig Mar Costeras. 2011;40:139–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Gómez CE, Escobar D, Dueñas LF. Diversidad, abundancia, y amenazas de los octocorales de isla Malpelo, Pacífico Oriental Tropical, Colombia. Rev Investig Mar Costeras. 2012;41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Ardila NE, Andrade J, Dueñas LF, Navas R, Ballesteros D. Octocoral densities and mortalities in Gorgona Island, Colombia, Tropical Eastern Pacific. Rev Biol Trop. 2014;62:209–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez JA, Fuentes-Pardo AP, Almhain ÍN, Ardila-Espitia NE, Cantera-Kintz J, Forero-Shelton M. The Masquerade Game: marine mimicry adaptation between egg-cowries and octocorals. PeerJ. 2016;4:e2051.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Schluter D. Speciation, ecological opportunity, and latitude: (American society of naturalists address)*. Am Nat. 2016;187(1):1–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shirur KP, Ramsby BD, Iglesias-Prieto R, Goulet TL. Biochemical composition of Caribbean gorgonians: implications for gorgonian – Symbiodinium symbiosis and ecology. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 2014;461:275–85.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simberloff D, Martin J-L, Genovesi P, Maris V, Wardle DA, Aronson J, et al. Impacts of biological invasions: what’s what and the way forward. Trends Ecol Evol. 2013;28(1):58–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smilansky V, Lasker HR. Fine-scale genetic structure in the surface brooding Caribbean octocoral, Antillogorgia elisabethae. Mar Biol. 2014;161(4):853–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith JM. The theory of games and the evolution of animal conflicts. J Theor Biol. 1974;47(1):209–21.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith GW, Weil E. Aspergillosis of gorgonians. In: Coral health and disease. Berlin: Springer; 2004. p. 279–87.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Smith GW, Harvell CD, Kim K. Response of sea fans to infection with Aspergillus sp. (Fungi). Rev Biol Trop. 1998;46:205–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toledo-Hernández C, Gulis V, Ruiz-Diaz CP, Sabat AM, Bayman P. When aspergillosis hits the fan: disease transmission and fungal biomass in diseased versus healthy sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina). Fungal Ecol. 2013;6(2):161–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tracey DM, Neil H, Marriott P, Andrews AH, Cailliet GM, Sánchez JA. Age and growth of two genera of deep-sea bamboo corals (family isididae) in New Zealand waters. Bull Mar Sci. 2007;81:393–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner GF. Parallel speciation, despeciation and respeciation: implications for species definition. Fish Fish. 2002;3(3):225–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Oppen MJH, Mieog JC, Sanchez CA, Fabricius KE. Diversity of algal endosymbionts (zooxanthellae) in octocorals: the roles of geography and host relationships. Mol Ecol. 2005;14(8):2403–17.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van Oppen MJH, Baker AC, Coffroth MA, Willis BL. Bleaching resistance and the role of algal endosymbionts. In: van Oppen MJH, Lough JM, editors. Coral bleach. [Internet]. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer; 2009 [cited 2016 Apr 24]. p. 83–102. Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-540-69775-6_6

  • Vargas S, Guzman HM, Breedy O. Distribution patterns of the genus Pacifigorgia (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae): track compatibility analysis and parsimony analysis of endemicity. J Biogeogr. 2008;35(2):241–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vargas S, Eitel M, Breedy O, Schierwater B. Molecules match morphology: mitochondrial DNA supports Bayer’s Lytreia – Bebryce – Heterogorgia (Alcyonacea: Octocorallia) clade hypothesis. Invertebr Syst. 2010;24(1):23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velásquez J, Sánchez JA. Octocoral species assembly and coexistence in Caribbean Coral Reefs. PLoS One. 2015;10(7):e0129609.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vreeland HV, Lasker HR. Selective feeding of the polychaete Hermodice carunculata Pallas on Caribbean gorgonians. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 1989;129(3):265–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner D, Kahng SE, Toonen RJ. Observations on the life history and feeding ecology of a specialized nudibranch predator (Phyllodesmium poindimiei), with implications for biocontrol of an invasive octocoral (Carijoa riisei) in Hawaii. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 2009;372:64–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wainwright SA, Dillon JR. On the orientation of sea fans (genus Gorgonia). Biol Bull. 1969;136(1):130–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh JR, Carpenter SR, Vander Zanden MJ. Invasive species triggers a massive loss of ecosystem services through a trophic cascade. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2016;113(15):4081–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ward JR, Kim K, Harvell CD. Temperature affects coral disease resistance and pathogen growth. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2006a;329:115–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward JR, Rypien KL, Bruno JF, Havell CD, Jordán-Dahlgren E, Mullen M, et al. Coral diversity and disease in Mexico. Dis Aquat Organ. 2006b;69:23–31.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wei X, Rodriguez AD, Bran P, Raptis RG, Sánchez JA, Ortega-Barria E, et al. Antiplasmoidal cembradiene diterpenoids from a Southwestern Caribbean gorgonian octocoral of the genus Eunicea. Tetrahedron. 2004;60:11813–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weil E. Coral reef diseases in the wider Caribbean. Coral Health Dis. [Internet]. Springer; 2004 [cited 2016 Apr 24]. p. 35–68. Available from: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-06414-6_2

  • Weil E, Smith G, Gil-Agudelo DL. Status and progress in coral reef disease research. Dis Aquat Organ. 2006;69:1–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • West JM. Plasticity in the sclerites of a gorgonian coral: tests of water motion, light level, and damage cues. Biol Bull. 1997;192(2):279–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • West JM. The dual role of sclerites in a gorgonian coral: conflicting functions of support and defence. Evol Ecol. 1998;12(7):803–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • West-Eberhard MJ. Developmental plasticity and evolution. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • West-Eberhard MJ. Developmental plasticity and the origin of species differences. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2005;102 Suppl 1:6543–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Williams GC, Breedy O. The Panamic gorgonian genus Pacifigorgia (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) in the Galápagos Archipelago, with descriptions of three new species. Proc-Calif Acad Sci. 2004;55(1/12):55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wirshing HH, Baker AC. Molecular and morphological species boundaries in the Gorgonian octocoral genus Pterogorgia (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae). Huchon D, editor. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(7):e0133517.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodley J, Chornesky E, Cliffo P, Jackson J, Kaufman L, Knowlton N, et al. Hurricane Allen’s impact on a Jamaican coral reef. Science. 1981;214:13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshioka PM. Size-specific life history pattern of a shallow-water gorgonian. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 1994;184:111–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshioka PM, Yoshioka BB. Variable effects of hurricane David on the shallow water gorgonians of Puerto Rico. Bull Mar Sci. 1987;40(1):132–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshioka PM, Yoshioka BB. Effects of wave energy, topographic relief and sediment transport on the distribution of shallow-water gorgonians of Puerto Rico. Coral Reefs. 1989;8:145–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuluaga-Montero A, Toledo-Hernández C, Rodríguez JA, Sabat AM, Bayman P. Spatial variation in fungal communities isolated from healthy and diseased sea fans Gorgonia ventalina and seawater. Aquat Biol. 2010;8:151–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges several expeditions to SFF Malpelo Island and Gorgona Island (PNN) organized and supported by Fundación Malpelo and Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia (Sandra Bessudo, Ximena Zorrilla, and Nancy Murillo) together with the continuing support from Vicerrectoria de Investigaciones (Programas de Investigación) and Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. Colciencias and National Geographic (Waitt) grants allowed exploring the Colombian Choco rocky reefs. The author recognizes the participation and support from local communities during his surveys. The help from colleagues and students from BIOMMAR for assistance in the field and laboratory including Luisa Dueñas, Catalina Ramírez, Diana Ballesteros, Carlos E. Gómez, Fabio Casas, Lina Gutierrez, Elena Quintanilla, and Dairo Escobar among others is greatly appreciated. Comments from Ernesto Weil, Sergio Rossi, and Yehuda Benayahu greatly improved the manuscript. For many years, informal chats, unfunded proposals, and interesting discussions on gorgonian and other corals, with many colleagues, enriched many of the ideas presented here, for what the author wants to acknowledge (in no particular order) to Howard Lasker, Mark Vermeij, Ivan Calixto, Carlos Prada, Peter Andolfato, Camilo Salazar, Nestor Ardila, Mary-Alice Coffroth, Scott Santos, Tammar Goulet, Sven Zea, Stephen Cairns, and Luisa Dueñas.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas-Facultad de Ciencias, Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina (BIOMMAR), Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

    Juan Armando Sánchez

Authors
  1. Juan Armando Sánchez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juan Armando Sánchez .

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

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Sánchez, J.A. (2016). Diversity and Evolution of Octocoral Animal Forests at Both Sides of Tropical America. 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_39-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17001-5_39-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17001-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation