Cladocora caespitosa

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Cladocora caespitosa
Capo Gallo 063 Cladocora caespitosa.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: incertae sedis
Genus: Cladocora
Species:
C. caespitosa
Binomial name
Cladocora caespitosa
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
  • Madrepora caespitosaLinnaeus, 1767

Cladocora caespitosa, commonly known as cushion coral, is a stony coral of the subclass Hexacorallia. [2] This species forms the only true coral reef in the Mediterranean Sea.

Contents

The species has been observed to demonstrate rejuvenescence, a unique survival strategy that enables the species to recover after warming events. [3]

Description

Close-up showing corallites Cladocora caespitosa.jpg
Close-up showing corallites

The polyps are a clear maroon colour, around 5 mm in diameter and form cushion-shaped colonies, in symbiosis with Zooxanthella algae. They produce deposits of calcium carbonate which form the calciate structures in which they live. It is the largest stony coral in the Mediterranean, reaching up to 50 cm in diameter. C. caespitosa has an average generation length of about 30 years. [1]

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, where it is attested already in the Upper Pliocene. It is common on rocky seabeds between a few metres and 60 metres in depth. In the marine lagoon of Veliko Jezero, in the marine reserve of Mljet island, Croatia, there is a small coral reef made up of C. caespitosa. It was believed to be the only true coral reef in the Mediterranean. [4] Recent findings in the Adriatic Sea show that Cladocora caespitosa is not the only reef-building species of the Mediterranean Sea. [5]

Fossil colony of Cladocora caespitosa from Acquafredda, Maratea, Potenza. Upper Pleistocene. The "bushy" form of the colony (left image), the external structure and the internal structure of the individuals (right images) are visible. Cladocora caespitosa Maratea.jpg
Fossil colony of Cladocora caespitosa from Acquafredda, Maratea, Potenza. Upper Pleistocene. The "bushy" form of the colony (left image), the external structure and the internal structure of the individuals (right images) are visible.

Reproduction

The colonies grow through budding, but the species spreads through the settlement of plankton-like larva on seabed suited to colonisation.

Threats

Cladocora caespitosa is classified as endangered under the IUCN red list, mostly based on recent mass die-offs caused by heat wave events in the Mediterranean. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polyp (zoology)</span> One of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria (zoology)

A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral end is attached to the substrate by means of a disc-like holdfast called a pedal disc, while in colonies of polyps it is connected to other polyps, either directly or indirectly. The oral end contains the mouth, and is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthozoa</span> Class of cnidarians without a medusa stage

Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes sessile cnidarians such as the sea anemones, stony corals, soft corals and sea pens. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as planktons. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scleractinia</span> Order of Hexacorallia which produce a massive stony skeleton

Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mouth is fringed with tentacles. Although some species are solitary, most are colonial. The founding polyp settles and starts to secrete calcium carbonate to protect its soft body. Solitary corals can be as much as 25 cm (10 in) across but in colonial species the polyps are usually only a few millimetres in diameter. These polyps reproduce asexually by budding, but remain attached to each other, forming a multi-polyp colony of clones with a common skeleton, which may be up to several metres in diameter or height according to species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hexacorallia</span> Class of cnidarians with 6-fold symmetry

Hexacorallia is a class of Anthozoa comprising approximately 4,300 species of aquatic organisms formed of polyps, generally with 6-fold symmetry. It includes all of the stony corals, most of which are colonial and reef-forming, as well as all sea anemones, and zoanthids, arranged within five extant orders. The hexacorallia are distinguished from another class of Anthozoa, Octocorallia, in having six or fewer axes of symmetry in their body structure; the tentacles are simple and unbranched and normally number more than eight. These organisms are formed of individual soft polyps which in some species live in colonies and can secrete a calcite skeleton. As with all Cnidarians, these organisms have a complex life cycle including a motile planktonic phase and a later characteristic sessile phase. Hexacorallia also include the significant extinct order of rugose corals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-band disease</span> Bacterial disease of coral

Yellow-band disease is a coral disease that attacks colonies of coral at a time when coral is already under stress from pollution, overfishing, and climate change. It is characterized by large blotches or patches of bleached, yellowed tissue on Caribbean scleractinian corals.

<i>Madrepora oculata</i> Species of coral

Madrepora oculata, also called zigzag coral, is a stony coral that is found worldwide outside of the polar regions, growing in deep water at depths of 50 to at least 1500 meters. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is one of only 12 species of coral that are found worldwide, including in Subantarctic oceans. In some areas, such as in the Mediterranean Sea and the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, it dominates communities of coral. Due to their similar distribution and taxonomic relationship, M. oculata is often experimentally compared to related deep sea coral, Lophelia pertusa.

The Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park is off the coast of the island of Cozumel in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The Cozumel reef system is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second largest coral reef system in the world. Even though almost the entire island of Cozumel is surrounded by coral reefs, the park only encompasses the reefs on the south side of the island. It begins just south of the International Pier and continues down and around Punta Sur and up just a small portion of the east side of the island. The park contains both shallow and mesophotic coral reefs and extends to the 100 m depth isobar.

<i>Astreopora</i> Genus of corals

Astreopora is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized.

<i>Pavona duerdeni</i> Species of coral

Pavona duerdeni, the porkchop coral, is a coral that forms clusters of cream-colored lobes or discs. They grow in large colonies, divided into ridges or hillocks. The coral is considered to be uncommon due to its low confirmed abundance, yet they are more commonly found in Hawaii, the Indo-Pacific, and the Tropical Eastern Pacific. They make up some of the largest colonies of corals, and have a slow growth rate, as indicated by their dense skeletons. Their smooth appearance is due to their small corallites growing on their surface.

<i>Diploria</i> Genus of corals

Diploria is a monotypic genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is represented by a single species, Diploria labyrinthiformis, commonly known as grooved brain coral and is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It has a familiar, maze-like appearance.

<i>Euphyllia cristata</i> Species of coral

Euphyllia cristata is commonly called Grape coral. E. cristata is a kind of stony or hard coral in the family Euphylliidae; it also belongs to the genus Euphyllia in the order of Scleractinia. E. cristata has a wide range of distribution throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific area with a large presence in Indonesia. However, despite this large range of distribution, E. cristata has a slightly lower abundance compared to other species, making them a little more uncommon to find. They are typically found in shallow waters from 1–35 meters deep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesophotic coral reef</span> Marine ecosystem

A mesophotic coral reef or mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCE), originally from the Latin word meso (meaning middle) and photic (meaning light), is characterized by the presence of both light-dependent coral and algae, and organisms that can be found in water with low light penetration. Mesophotic coral ecosystems occur at depths beyond those typically associated with coral reefs as the mesophotic ranges from brightly lit to some areas where light does not reach. Mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCEs) is a new, widely adopted term used to refer to mesophotic coral reefs, as opposed to other similar terms like "deep coral reef communities" and "twilight zone", since those terms sometimes are confused due to their unclear, interchangeable nature. Many species of fish and corals are endemic to the MCEs making these ecosystems a crucial component in maintaining global diversity. Recently, there has been increased focus on the MCEs as these reefs are a crucial part of the coral reef systems serving as a potential refuge area for shallow coral reef taxa such as coral and sponges. Advances in recent technologies such as remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have enabled humans to conduct further research on these ecosystems and monitor these marine environments.

<i>Astrangia poculata</i> Species of coral

Astrangia poculata, the northern star coral or northern cup coral, is a species of non-reefbuilding stony coral in the family Rhizangiidae. It is native to shallow water in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists this coral as being of "least concern". Astrangia poculata is an emerging model organism for corals because it harbors a facultative photosymbiosis, is a calcifying coral, and has a large geographic range. Research on this emerging model system is showcased annually by the Astrangia Research Working Group, collaboratively hosted by Roger Williams University, Boston University, and Southern Connecticut State University

<i>Heliofungia actiniformis</i> Species of coral

Heliofungia actiniformis is a solitary species of mushroom coral, a large polyp stony coral in the family Fungiidae. This coral is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region. It is a zooxanthellate species. It is a popular coral in the reef aquarium trade; wild populations are threatened by disease, climate change, and over-collecting, and the species is considered vulnerable by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euphylliidae</span> Family of marine coral known as Euphylliidae

Euphylliidae are known as a family of polyped stony corals under the order Scleractinia.

<i>Galaxea astreata</i> Species of coral

Galaxea astreata is a common and cosmopolitan large polyp scleractinian coral, in the family Euphylliidae. It has a sub-massive morphology. It is found in the Indo-Pacific and is the most abundant coral species in Xuwen Coral Reef National Nature Reserve. G. astreata is acclimatized to water temperatures ranging from about 27 ± 0.5 °C. It is generally a shallow-water coral and is commonly seen at a depth of around 15 meters. It can range from a depth of 1 meter to 30 meters. It generally prefers clear, salt waters over turbid brackish waters.

<i>Oxypora glabra</i> Species of coral

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Ellisella paraplexauroides is a vulnerable gorgonian considered among the largest colonial invertebrates of the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Heterocyathus</i> Genus of coral

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rejuvenescence</span>

Rejuvenescence is a unique survival strategy observed in certain coral species, which enables them to recover from harmful warming events. This strategy involves the contraction and subsequent rejuvenation of individual coral polyps within a colony. During warm periods, the polyps shrink inward and abandon their skeletons, only to later regenerate and rebuild their colonies. This mechanism involves a decrease metabolic activity, leading to a significant shrinking of the polyps, their partial retreat from inner skeletal structures, and the formation of a new protective cup, known as a calyx.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Casado de Amezua, P.; Kersting, D.; Linares, C.L.; Bo, M.; Caroselli, E.; Garrabou, J.; Cerrano, C.; Ozalp, B.; Terrón-Sigler, A.; Betti, F. (2015). "Cladocora caespitosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T133142A75872554. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T133142A75872554.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. "Cladocora caespitosa". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 30 Oct 2014.
  3. Kersting, Diego K.; Linares, Cristina (2019-10-04). "Living evidence of a fossil survival strategy raises hope for warming-affected corals". Science Advances. 5 (10). American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax2950. ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   6785258 .
  4. Kružić, Petar; Požar-Domac, Antonieta (2003). "Banks of the coral Cladocora caespitosa (Anthozoa, Scleractinia) in the Adriatic Sea". Coral Reefs. 22 (4): 536. doi:10.1007/s00338-003-0345-y.
  5. Corriero, Giuseppe; Cataldo, Pierri (2019). "A Mediterranean mesophotic coral reef built by non-symbiotic scleractinians". Scientific Reports. 9 (3601): 18. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-40284-4 . PMC   6401148 .

Bibliography