scholarly journals The importance of coastal gorgonians in the blue carbon budget

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Coppari ◽  
Chiara Zanella ◽  
Sergio Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Size Structure ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Marine Animal ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Paramuricea Clavata ◽  
Nw Mediterranean ◽  
Gorgonian Species ◽  
Benthic Pelagic Coupling ◽  
Coupling Processes

Abstract Terrestrial (trees, shrubs) and marine (seaweeds and seagrasses) organisms act as carbon (C) sinks, but the role of benthic suspension feeders in this regard has been largely neglected so far. Gorgonians are one of the most conspicuous inhabitants of marine animal forests (mainly composed of sessile filter feeders); their seston capture rates influence benthic-pelagic coupling processes and they act as C sinks immobilizing carbon in their long-living structures. Three gorgonian species (Paramuricea clavata, Eunicella singularis and Leptogorgia sarmentosa) were studied coupling data of population size structure, biomass and spatial distribution in a NW Mediterranean area (Cap de Creus, Spain) with feeding, respiration and growth rates. In the study area, we calculated that P. clavata sequestered 0.73 ± 0.71 g C m−2 year−1, E. singularis 0.73 ± 0.89 g C m−2 year−1 and L. sarmentosa 0.03 ± 0.02 g C m−2 year−1. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to calculate the importance as C sinks of gorgonian species that we consider as a starting point to estimate the importance of marine animal forests in C sequestration, and to ensure appropriate management and protection especially in areas and at depths where they are concentrated.

scholarly journals The Importance of Food Pulses in Benthic-Pelagic Coupling Processes of Passive Suspension Feeders

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 997
Author(s):  
Sergio Rossi ◽  
Lucia Rizzo
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Branching Pattern ◽  
Suspension Feeders ◽  
Paramuricea Clavata ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Benthic Pelagic Coupling ◽  
Intensive Sampling ◽  
Coupling Processes ◽  
Capture Rates

Benthic-pelagic coupling processes and the quantity of carbon transferred from the water column to the benthic suspension feeders needs multiple intensive sampling approaches where several environmental variables and benthos performance are quantified. Here, activity, dietary composition, and capture rates of three Mediterranean gorgonians (Paramuricea clavata, Eunicella singularis, and Leptogorgia sarmentosa) were assessed in an intensive cycle considering different variables such as the seston concentration and quality (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, and zooplankton), the colony branch patterns, and the energetic input of the single species (i.e., mixotrophic and heterotrophic). The three species showed clear differences in their impact on the seston concentration. Paramuricea clavata, the most densely distributed, showed a greater impact on the near bottom water column seston. The lowest impact of E. singularis on the seston could be explained by its mixotrophy and colony branching pattern. Leptogorgia sarmentosa had a similar impact as E. singularis, having a much more complex branching pattern and more than an order of magnitude smaller number of colonies per meter square than the other two octocorals. The amount of carbon ingested in the peaks of the capture rates in the three species may cover a non-neglectable proportion of the potential carbon fluxes.

Predation behaviour of millimetre-sized hydrozoan polyps on early ivory shell juveniles

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 889-895
Author(s):  
Yulin Huang ◽  
Jingqiang Fu ◽  
Yutong Shi ◽  
Yunan Wang ◽  
Qi Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Babylonia Areolata ◽  
Polyp Stage ◽  
Benthic Pelagic Coupling ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Coupling Processes ◽  
Colonial Hydroid

AbstractMarine hydroids, the polyp stage of hydrozoans, are assumed to be carnivores and play an important role in benthic-pelagic coupling processes by regulating zooplankton populations and transferring energy. The known hydroid diets mainly consist of zooplankton as well as some benthic diatoms and metazoans, almost all of which have smaller dimensions than the polyp. In the present study, a large-scale breeding failure of the early juveniles of the ivory shell Babylonia areolata (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Babyloniidae) was found in a local aquaculture farm in Fujian, China in July 2018. About 640,000 out of 800,000 early juveniles (80%) died due to predation by a millimetre-sized colonial hydroid species that was initially overlooked. The hydrozoan species was identified as Eirene sp. (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Eirenidae) via the integration of morphological and molecular data. A laboratory feeding experiment showed that the hydroid predation led to an overall mortality of ivory shell juveniles of up to 92.6% after 48 h. The predation process was observed in the laboratory and a video showing the entire process was prepared. This is the first report of hydroids preying on gastropod juveniles, revealing a previously unknown threat to mollusc aquaculture including ivory shells. Several management practices are suggested to mitigate this newly recognized threat.

Optimizing any-aged management of mixed-species stands. I. Performance of a coordinate-search process

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Haight ◽  
Robert A. Monserud
Keyword(s):  
Size Structure ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Solution Technique ◽  
Search Process ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
Wide Diameter ◽  
Single Tree ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Time Problem

Optimal any-aged management problems for mixed-species stands have been solved for the first time. Problem formulation calls for periodic planting and harvesting controls to be applied without constraints on the stand age or size structure over time; classical definitions of both even- and uneven-aged management are, thus, subsets of this general any-aged management definition. The solution technique is a derivative-free, coordinate-search process called the method of Hooke and Jeeves. The optimizer incorporates without modification the Stand Prognosis Model, a single-tree simulator that is used extensively in the western United States. This paper focuses on sensitivity analysis and performance of the optimizer on problems with both short and long time horizons and with different definitions of the harvest controls. Superior harvest regimes are found by defining harvest controls with relatively wide diameter-class boundaries and with broad species groups. In all cases examined, there is variability in present value and harvest pattern associated with the choice of the starting point for the optimizer. The cause of these multiple optima is a nonconvex and discontinuous response surface produced by the single-tree simulator. This points out the need to examine the results from several random starts before making conclusions about optimal timber harvesting.

scholarly journals The Effects of the Nonnative Brittle Star Ophiothela Mirabilis Verrill, 1867 on the Feeding Performance of an Octocoral Host in a Southwestern Atlantic Rocky Shore

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Derviche ◽  
Paulo da Cunha Lana
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Shore ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Brittle Star ◽  
Host Feeding ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Feeding Performance ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Benthic Pelagic Coupling ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Coupling Processes

Abstract The Pacific epizoic brittle star Ophiothela mirabilis Verrill, 1867 has widely spread and colonized hosts at high densities along the Western Atlantic. We assessed the impacts of O. mirabilis on the feeding performance of the preferred host Leptogorgia punicea (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857) through in situ experiments using incubation chambers and estimated its putative effects on the benthic-pelagic coupling processes of a rocky shore system. The feeding rates and heterotrophic carbon inputs of L. punicea treatments with high colonization by O. mirabilis (5.4 ± 0.6 individuals cm− 2 of host area) were compared to host controls naturally without brittle stars. No significant differences in host feeding performance were observed between the control and treatments. Overall, L. punicea ingested 2,688,569 ± 1,627,948 particles g DW (dry weight)−1 hour− 1 (mean ± standard deviation), corresponding to 156.8 ± 207.5 µg of carbon (C) g DW− 1 hour− 1. Therefore, although octocorals hosting O. mirabilis may have impaired polyp opening and extension, their feeding performance remains similar. In this sense, the impact of O. mirabilis on the carbon flux of the rocky shore system driven by octocoral ingestion is minimal. The grazing rate of 67.4 ± 89.2 mg C m− 2 day− 1 highlights the significant role of L. punicea in such benthic-pelagic coupling processes. Notwithstanding, further laboratory and field experimental studies assessing the effects on host taxa with distinct morphological and functional features are needed to better understand the responses of the recipient hard-bottom systems along the Western Atlantic to increasing densities of O. mirabilis.

scholarly journals Can indicators for sustainable tourism improve tourism planning in the coastal destinations?

Tourism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-155
Author(s):  
Kristina Brščić ◽  
Lluis Prats Planaguma ◽  
Antonio Raschi ◽  
Valentina Marchi ◽  
Tina Šugar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
First Year ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Regional Tourism ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Tourism Destinations ◽  
Tourism Flows

Due to the continuous increase of the tourism industry, tourism destinations need to be managed under a sustainable framework, with the main aim of minimizing the adverse effects caused by tourism flows. In recent years, several attempts have been made to measure those effects and value the level of sustainability of every destination. A clear example of this is the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS). In the paper, the results are presented of a project which aimed to test indicators of sustainable tourism in coastal destinations of Catalonia, Istrian Region, and Tuscany Region. The results of 33 collected indicators are available on the online platform of the project INTERREG MED MITOMED+. During the first year, in every category of indicators (economic, social-cultural and environmental) only some indicators were collected, which was expected because different regions apply different methodologies. The collected data is the starting point that shows destinations how the indicator can be obtained and what its purpose is. Furthermore, collected data can help local and regional tourism stakeholders to prevent factors of risk, to take decisions and to improve the implementation of policies for sustainable maritime and coastal tourism development in the Mediterranean area.

scholarly journals Population collapse of habitat-forming species in the Mediterranean: a long-term study of gorgonian populations affected by recurrent marine heatwaves

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1965) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Gómez-Gras ◽  
C. Linares ◽  
A. López-Sanz ◽  
R. Amate ◽  
J. B. Ledoux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Temperate Reefs ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Recovery Capacity ◽  
Paramuricea Clavata ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Density And Biomass

Understanding the resilience of temperate reefs to climate change requires exploring the recovery capacity of their habitat-forming species from recurrent marine heatwaves (MHWs). Here, we show that, in a Mediterranean highly enforced marine protected area established more than 40 years ago, habitat-forming octocoral populations that were first affected by a severe MHW in 2003 have not recovered after 15 years. Contrarily, they have followed collapse trajectories that have brought them to the brink of local ecological extinction. Since 2003, impacted populations of the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) and the red coral Corallium rubrum (Linnaeus, 1758) have followed different trends in terms of size structure, but a similar progressive reduction in density and biomass. Concurrently, recurrent MHWs were observed in the area during the 2003–2018 study period, which may have hindered populations recovery. The studied octocorals play a unique habitat-forming role in the coralligenous assemblages (i.e. reefs endemic to the Mediterranean Sea home to approximately 10% of its species). Therefore, our results underpin the great risk that recurrent MHWs pose for the long-term integrity and functioning of these emblematic temperate reefs.

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