2 research outputs found
Rapid recovery from injuries in the temperate long-lived coral Cladocora caespitosa
3 p谩ginas, 2 figuras.Cladocora caespitosa is a colonial and symbiotic
scleractinian coral endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, which is
threatened by disturbances related to global change. To assess
its recovery capacity from physically induced tissue injuries,
one to three polyps from 46 colonies were collected at 15 m
depth in the Columbretes Islands Marine Reserve (NW
Mediterranean Sea) and were subjected to injuries that partially
affected both tissue and skeleton. For 3 months, colonies
were maintained in aquaria, where polyps were surveyed
photographically every 2 days. The first signs of recovery
were detected during the 3rd week and 68% of injured polyps
showed total recovery after 2 months. The recovery capacity
in aquarium conditions contrasts with the slow growth of this
long-lived species. However, rapid recovery is an advantage
in competition with other organisms of shallow dynamic
Mediterranean communities. Further research on recovery
mechanisms is needed to better assess the resilience of this
species.The study has been partially
funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation through the
Smart project (CGL2012-32194) and a Ram贸n y Cajal contract to C.L.
(RyC-2011-08134).Peer reviewe