Search   in
author
title
abstract
keywords
between years and
 
Coexistence of the reef-building coral Cladocora caespitosa and the canopy-forming alga Treptacantha ballesterosii: Description of a new Mediterranean habitat
Alèssia Pons-Fita, Jana Verdura, Jorge Santamaría, Diego K. Kersting, Enric Ballesteros

Shallow Mediterranean rocky environments are usually dominated by macroalgae, but the stony colonial zooxanthellate coral Cladocora caespitosa is able to build extensive banks in some particular areas. Although zooxanthellate corals and benthic macroalgae are expected to compete for light and space when overlapping in the same habitat, there is previous evidence that C. caespitosa and Mediterranean macroalgae do not suffer from competitive exclusion when living together. Here we characterize a new and unique Mediterranean habitat where the reef-building coral C. caespitosa and erect seaweeds of the order Fucales (Cystoseira s.l.) coexist. In this new habitat C. caespitosa reaches 34% cover and densities of Cystoseira s.l. (mainly Treptacantha ballesterosii) are much higher than values reported from other sites. Interestingly, abundances of T. ballesterosii and C. caespitosa show a positive relationship, suggesting that some kind of facilitation mechanism is taking place. These findings challenge the theory of competitive exclusion between corals and macroalgae and launch a wide array of possible open discussions on coral-macroalgae interactions.

Keywords: Cladocora caespitosa; Treptacantha; Cystoseira; habitat; coral-algal interactions; Mediterranean Sea
Contents of this volume Sci. Mar. 84(3) : 263-271 Back PDF
 
 
Please, send comments to
ICM (CSIC) - Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49. E-08003 Barcelona (Spain)