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Latitudinal variations in biometry and population density of a M editerranean solitary coral
Author(s) -
Caroselli Erik,
Nanni Valentina,
Levy Oren,
Falini Giuseppe,
Dubinsky Zvy,
Goffredo Stefano
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.1002/lno.10100
Subject(s) - coral , sea surface temperature , biology , population , coral bleaching , density dependence , population density , environmental science , oceanography , ecology , geology , demography , sociology
Correlations between solar radiation, sea surface temperature (SST), biometry, and population density were assessed along a wide latitudinal gradient in the non‐zooxanthellate solitary coral Caryophyllia inornata . Biometric parameters were more strongly correlated with temperature than with solar radiation as in previous studies on Mediterranean solitary corals. With increasing SST, populations were characterized by bigger polyps, and consequently by a higher percent area coverage and mass per square meter. Population abundance was not correlated with SST, similarly to the non‐zooxanthellate solitary Leptopsammia pruvoti . Instead, the population density of the zooxanthellate solitary Balanophyllia europaea decreases with increasing SST. When extrapolating the relationships between biological parameters of the three species and SST, according to the projected seawater temperature increase, a higher tolerance to temperature for non‐zooxanthellate species seems to be confirmed.