Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Demographic parameters of two populations of red coral (Corallium rubrum L. 1758) in the North Western Mediterranean

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The demographic and reproductive structure of populations represents the main data set needed for conservation and management plans. Mediterranean red coral Corallium rubrum has been exploited for 2,000 years, but only recently management plans have been solicited by the international community. We examined and compared the demographic features of two red coral shallow populations located in distinct geographic locations: Portofino (Italy) and Cap de Creus (Spain). Adults and juveniles density, growth rates, population size and age structure, fecundity and fertility were examined. Juveniles were the dominant class (33 %) in both populations. The analysis of the gamete content of 653 colonies revealed that the populations have balanced sex ratios and similar fertility and polyp fecundity. The average annual growth rate, determined on 119 colonies by annual growth rings count, was similar in both populations (0.24 mm year−1), decreasing with colony age. Maximum life span of 99 % of the colonies was 60 and 40 years at Portofino and Cap de Creus, respectively. Minimum harvestable size (7 mm basal diameter) was reached in 30–35 years, and the percentage of colonies above it was 6.7 % at Portofino and 2.1 % at Cap de Creus, where juvenile and adult colony densities were significantly lower and the percentage of commercial-sized colonies reduced by 25 % in just a few years. Notwithstanding similar growth and fecundity, the two populations showed different densities and size/age structures suggesting local factors, together with different fishing pressures, have to be taken into account in the management plans for this species.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arrigoni M, Manfredi P, Panigada S, Bramanti L, Santangelo G (2011) Life-history tables of the Mediterranean fin whale from stranding data. Mar Ecol 32(1):1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babcock RC (1991) Comparative demography of three species of scleractinian corals using age- and size-dependent classifications. Ecol Monogr 61:225–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bak RPM, Meesters EH (1998) Coral population structure: the hidden information of colony size-frequency distributions. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 162:301–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bak RPM, Meesters EH (1999) Population structure as a response of coral communities to global change. Am Zool 39:56–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes DJ, Lough JM (1993) On the nature and causes of density banding in massive coral skeletons. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 167:91–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bavestrello G, Cattaneo-Vietti R, Cerrano C, Danovaro R, Fabiano M (1995) Annual sedimentation rates and role of resuspension processes along a vertical cliff (Ligurian sea, Italy). J Coastal Res 11(3):690–696

    Google Scholar 

  • Beissinger SR, McCullough DR (2002) Population viability analysis. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Benayahu Y, Loya Y (1985) Settlement and recruitment of a soft coral: why is Xenia macrospiculata a successful colonizer? Bull Mar Sci 36(1):177–188

    Google Scholar 

  • Beverton RJH, Hollt SJ (1957) On the dynamics of exploited fish populations. Fish Invest Minist Agric Fish Food GB Ser N 19:533

    Google Scholar 

  • Bramanti L, Magagnini G, Santangelo G (2003) Settlement and recruitment: the first stages in the life cycle of two epibenthic suspension feeders (Corallium rubrum and Anomia ephippium). Ital J Zool 70:175–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bramanti L, Magagnini G, De Maio L, Santangelo G (2005) Recruitment, early survival and growth of the Mediterranean red coral Corallium rubrum (L. 1758), a 4-year study. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 314:69–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bramanti L, Rossi S, Tsounis G, Gili JM, Santangelo G (2007) Recruitment and early survival of red coral on settlement plates: some clues for demography and restoration. Hydrobiologia 580:219–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bramanti L, Santangelo G, Iannelli M (2009) Mathematical modelling for conservation and management of gorgonians corals: young and olds, could they coexist? Ecol Model 20(21):2851–2856

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bramanti L, Iannelli M, Santangelo G (2010) The importance of demographic approach to conservation and management of Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum). GFCM-General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean SAC-SCESS-SCMEE-SCSA. In: Proceedings on the transversal workshop on red coral

  • Bramanti L, Vielmini I, Rossi S, Stolfa S, Santangelo G (2011) Involvement of recreational scuba divers in emblematic species monitoring: the case of Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum). J Nat Conserv 19(5):312–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bramanti L, Movilla J, Guron M, Calvo E, Gori A, Dominguez-Carriò C, Martinez-Quintana A, Pelejero C, Lopez-Sanz A, Ziveri P, Rossi S (2013) Detrimental effects of ocean acidification on the economically important Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum). Glob Change Biol 19:1897–1908

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bruckner AW (2009) Rate and extent of decline in Corallium (pink and red coral) populations: existing data meet the requirements for a CITES Appendix II listing. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 397:319–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caley MJ, Carr MH, Hixon MA, Hugher TP, Jones GP, Menge BA (1996) Recruitment and the local dynamics of open marine populations. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 27:477–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caswell H (2001) Matrix population models, 2nd edn. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Cattaneo-Vietti R, Bavestrello G, Senes L (1993) La facies a Corallium rubrum lungo il Promontorio di Portofino (Mar Ligure). Biol Mar 1(Supp l):281–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Cerrano C, Bavestrello G, Bianchi CN, Cattaneo-Vietti R et al (2000) A catastrophic mass-mortality episode of gorgonians and other organisms in the Ligurian Sea (North-western Mediterranean), summer 1999. Ecol Lett 3:284–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicogna F, Cattaneo-Vietti R (1993) Red coral in the Mediterranean Sea, art, history and science. Ministero Risorse Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali, 263 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Corriero G, Abbiati M, Santangelo G (1997) The sponge complex inhabiting a Mediterranean red coral population. PSZN Mar Ecol 18:147–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costantini F, Taviani M, Remia A, Pintus E, Shembri PJ, Abbiati M (2010) Live colonies of Corallium rubrum from the Mediterranean deep-sea: a preliminary genetic characterisation. Mar Ecol 31:261–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costantini F, Rossi S, Pintus E, Cerrano C, Gili JM, Abbiati M (2011) Low connectivity and declining genetic variability along depth gradients in Corallium rubrum populations. Coral Reefs 30(4):991–1003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crouse DT, Crowder LB, Caswell H (1987) A stage-based population model for loggerhead sea turtles and implications for conversation. Ecology 68:1412–1423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cupido R, Cocito S, Barsanti M, Sgorbini S, Peirano A, Santangelo G (2009) Unexpected long-term population dynamics in a canopy-forming gorgonian coral following mass mortality. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 394:195–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dobson A (1998) Conservation and biodiversity. Scientific American Library, New York

  • Durrieu de Madron X et al (2011) Marine ecosystems’ responses to climatic and anthropogenic forcings in the Mediterranean. Prog Oceanogr 91:97–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ebert TA (1999) Plant and animal populations: methods in demography, vol 639. Academic Press, San Diego, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Edmunds PJ, Elahi R (2007) The demographics of a 15-year decline in cover of the caribbean reef coral Montastraea annularis. Ecol Monogr 77:3–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada M (1996) Primary production in the northwestern Mediterranean. Sci Mar 60(2):55–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Fong P, Glynn PW (1998) A dynamic size-structured population model: does disturbance control size structure of a population of the massive coral Gardineroseris planulata in the Eastern Pacific? Mar Biol 130:663–674

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujiwara M, Caswell H (2001) Demography of the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Nature 414:537–541

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gallmetzer I, Haselmair A, Velimirov B (2010) Slow growth and early sexual maturity: bane and boon for the red coral Corallium rubrum. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 90:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrabou J, Harmelin JG (2002) A 20-year study on life-history traits of a harvested long-lived temperate coral in NW Mediterranean: insights into conservation and management needs. J Anim Ecol 71:966–978

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrabou J, Perez T, Santoretto S, Harmelin JG (2001) Mass mortality event in red coral Corallium rubrum populations in the provence region (France, NW Mediterranean). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 217:263–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrabou J, Coma R, Bensoussan N, Chevaldonné P et al (2009) Mass mortality in NW Mediterranean rocky benthic communities: effects of the 2003 heat wave. Glob Change Biol 15:1090–1110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean Scientific Advisory Committee SAC) (2010) Report of the transversal workshop on red coral Alghero (Sardinia), Italy, 16–17 September 2010. SAC 13/2011/if. http://151.1.154.86/GfcmWebSite/SAC/2010/Red_Coral/Report.pdf

  • GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean Scientific Advisory Committee SAC) (2011) Report of the transversal workshop on red coral Ajaccio (Corsica), France, 5–7 October 2011

  • Giannini F, Gili JM, Santangelo G (2003) Relationships between the spatial distribution of red coral Corallium rubrum and coexisting suspension feeders at Medes Islets Marine Protected Area (Spain). Ital J Zool 70:233–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gili JM, Coma R (1998) Benthic suspension feeders: their paramount role in littoral marine substrates. Trends Ecol Evol 13(8):316–321

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goffredo S, Chadwick-Furman NE (2003) Comparative demography of mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) at Eilat, northern Red Sea. Mar Biol 142:411–418

    Google Scholar 

  • Gori A, Rossi S, Linares C, Berganzo E, Orejas C, Dale MRT, Gili JM (2011) Size and spatial structure in deep vs shallow populations of the Mediterranean gorgonian Eunicella singularis (Cap de Creus, northwestern Mediterranean Sea). Mar Biol 158:1721–1732

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grigg RW (1988) Recruitment limitation of a deep benthic hard-bottom octocoral population in the Hawaiian Islands. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 45:121–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guizien K, Belharet M, Marsaleix P, Guarini JM (2012) Using larval dispersal simulations for marine protected area design: application to the Gulf of Lions (northwest Mediterranean). Limnol Oceanogr 57(4):1099–1112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huges TP (1984) Population dynamics based on individual size rather than age: a general model with a reef coral example. Am Nat 123(6):778–795

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Jackson JBC (1985) Population dynamics and life histories of foliaceous corals. Ecol Monogr 55:141–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IFPC International Forum on Precious Coral (2009) Report of the first meeting in Hong Kong. International Association on Promoting of Precious Coral Study, 48 pp

  • IFPC International precious coral forum (2012) Report of the meeting in Kochi, Japan. Precious Coral Protection and Development Association, 137 pp

  • Iwasaki N, Fujita T, Bavestrello G, Cattaneo-Vietti R (2012) Morphometry and population structure of non-harvested and harvested populations of the Japanese red coral (Paracorallium japonicum) off Amami Island, southern Japan. Mar Freshw Res 263:468–474

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knowlton N, Jackson J (2008) Shifting baselines, local impacts, and global change on coral reefs. PLoS Biol 6(2):215–220

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knutson DW, Buddemeier RW, Smith SV (1972) Coral chronometers: seasonal growth bands in reef corals. Science 177:270–272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ledoux J, Garrabou J, Bianchimani O et al (2010) Fine-scale genetic structure and inferences on population biology in the threatened Mediterranean red coral, Corallium rubrum. Mol Ecol 19:4204–4216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linares C, Coma R, Garrabou J, Diaz D, Zabala M (2008a) Size distribution, density and disturbance of two Mediterranean gorgonians: Paramuricea clavata and Eunicella singularis. J Appl Ecol 45:688–699

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linares C, Coma R, Zabala M (2008b) Restoration of threatened red gorgonian populations: an experimental and modelling approach. Biol Conserv 141:427–437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linares C, Bianchimani O, Torrents O, Marschal C, Drap P, Garrabou J (2010) Marine protected areas and the conservation of long-lived invertebrates: the Mediterranean red coral. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 402:69–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linares C, Garrabou J, Hereu B, Diaz D, Marschal C, Sala E, Zabala M (2012) Assessing the effectiveness of marine reserves on unsustainably harvested long-lived sessile invertebrates. Conserv Biol 26:88–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marschal C, Garrabou J, Harmelin JG, Pichon M (2004) A new method for measuring growth and age in the precious Mediterranean red coral Corallium rubrum (L.). Coral Reefs 23:423–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millstein J, O’Clair CE (2001) Comparison of age-length and growth-increment general growth models of the Schnute type in the Pacific blue mussel, Mytilus trossulus Gould. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 262:155–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Priori C, Mastascusa V, Erra F, Angiolillo M, Canese S, Santangelo G (2013) Demography of deep-dwelling red coral populations. Age and reproductive structure assessment. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 116:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasband WS (1997) ImageJ, U.S. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. http://imagej.nih.gov/ij/, 1997–2011

  • Rossi S, Gili JM (2005) Composition and temporal variation of the near-bottom seston in a Mediterranean coastal area. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 65:385–395

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Tsounis G, Orejas C, Padrón T, Gili JM, Bramanti L, Teixidó N, Gutt J (2008) Survey of deep-dwelling red coral (Corallium rubrum) populations at Cap de Creus (NW Mediterranean). Mar Biol 154(3):533–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Bramanti L, Broglio E, Gili JM (2012) Population dynamics of short lived species can validate the models of long lived species: the hydrozoan case study. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 467:97–111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Santangelo G, Abbiati M (2001) Red coral: conservation and management of an overexploited Mediterranean species. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 11:253–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santangelo G, Bramanti L (2006) Ecology through time: an overview. Biol For 99:395–424

    Google Scholar 

  • Santangelo G, Bramanti L (2010) Quantifying the decline in Corallium rubrum populations. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 418:295–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santangelo G, Carletti E, Maggi E, Bramanti L (2003) Reproduction and population sexual structure of the overexploited Mediterranean red coral Corallium rubrum. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 248:99–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santangelo G, Maggi E, Bramanti L, Bongiorni L (2004) Demography of the overexploited Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum L. 1758). Sci Mar 67(3):199–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Santangelo G, Bramanti L, Iannelli M (2007) Population dynamics and conservation biology of the over-exploited Mediterranean red coral. J Theor Biol 244:416–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santangelo G, Bramanti L, Rossi S, Tsounis G, Vielmini I, Lott C, Gili JM (2012) Patterns of variation in recruitment and post-recruitment processes of the Mediterranean precious gorgonian coral Corallium rubrum. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 411:7–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torrents O, Garrabou J (2011) Fecundity of red coral Corallium rubrum (L.) populations inhabiting in contrasting environmental conditions in the NW Mediterranean. Mar Biol 158:1019–1028

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torrents O, Garrabou J, Marschal C, Harmelin JG (2005) Age and size at first reproduction in the commercially exploited red coral Corallium rubrum (L.) in the Marseilles area (France, NW Mediterranean). Biol Conserv 121:391–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsounis G, Rossi S, Gili JM, Arntz W (2006a) Population structure of an exploited benthic cnidarian: the case study of red coral (Corallium rubrum L.). Mar Biol 149:1059–1070

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsounis G, Rossi S, Aranguren M, Gili JM, Arntz W (2006b) Effects of spatial variability and colony size on the reproductive output and gonadal development cycle of the Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum L.). Mar Biol 148:513–527

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsounis G, Rossi S, Laudien J, Bramanti L, Fernández N, Gili JM, Arntz W (2006c) Diet and seasonal prey capture rate in the Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum L.). Mar Biol 149:313–325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsounis G, Rossi S, Gili JM, Arntz W (2007) Red coral fishery at the Costa Brava (NW Mediterranean): case study for an over harvested precious coral. Ecosystems 10:975–986

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsounis G, Rossi S, Grigg RW, Santangelo G, Bramanti L, Gili JM (2010) The exploitation and conservation of precious corals. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 48:161–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsounis G, Martínez L, Viladrich N, Bramanti L, Martínez A, Gili JM, Rossi S (2012) Effects of human impact on the reproductive effort and allocation of energy reserves in the Mediterranean octocoral Paramuricea clavata. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 449:161–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsounis G, Rossi S, Bramanti L, Santangelo G (2013) Management hurdles for sustainable harvesting of Corallium rubrum. Mar Policy 39:361–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuljapurkar S, Caswell H (1997) Structured-population models in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems. Chapman and Hall, NY

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Vielzeuf D, Garrabou J, Baronnet A, Grauby O, Marschal C (2008) Nano to macroscale biomineral architecture of red coral (Corallium rubrum). Am Mineral 93(11–12):1799–1815

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zibrowius H, Montero M, Grasshoff M (1984) La repartition du Corallium rubrum dans l’Atlantique. Thetis 11:163–170

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the invaluable support of Portofino MPA and Cap de Creus MPA. L Bramanti was supported by a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship within the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (CORGARD Project No. 221072), and S Rossi was funded by a Ramón y Cajal Contract (RyC-2007-01327). The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement 265103 (Project MedSeA). Part of the project was funded by the Italy–Spain exchange program UNIPI-CSIC, PRIN 2011 and BENTOLARV (CTM2009-10007). Thanks to Fischer Italia and SSI Italia for support and to TDI and Aldo Ferrucci for the CCR Megalodon units used for the underwater sampling. A thanks also to the European diving center and to Toni Garcia for the logistic help in the field work and to A. Cafazzo, D. Brown and K. Guizien for the revision of the English and comments on the manuscript. Data and results form part of PhD thesis of I. Vielmini at Pisa University.

Author information

Author notes

  1. L. Bramanti

    Present address: CNRS, UMR8222, LECOB, Observatoire Océanologique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 18 Avenue du Fontaulé, 66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar, Barcelona (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    L. Bramanti

  2. AquaTT, P. O. Box 8989, Dublin 2, Ireland

    I. Vielmini

  3. Environmental Science and Technology Institute, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Campus UAB s/n, 08193, Barcelona, Spain

    S. Rossi

  4. Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology GmbH (ZMT), Fahrenheitstrasse 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    G. Tsounis

  5. Department of Mathematics, Università di Trento, Via Sommarive 14, 38123, Povo, Trento, Italy

    M. Iannelli

  6. Dipartimento per lo Studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse (Dip.Te.Ris), Università di Genova, C.so Europa 26, 16132, Genoa, Italy

    R. Cattaneo-Vietti

  7. Department of Biology, Università di Pisa, Via Volta 6, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    L. Bramanti, C. Priori & G. Santangelo

Authors
  1. L. Bramanti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. I. Vielmini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. Rossi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. G. Tsounis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. M. Iannelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R. Cattaneo-Vietti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. C. Priori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. G. Santangelo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. Bramanti.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Acosta.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bramanti, L., Vielmini, I., Rossi, S. et al. Demographic parameters of two populations of red coral (Corallium rubrum L. 1758) in the North Western Mediterranean. Mar Biol 161, 1015–1026 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2383-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2383-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation