Eunicella singularis

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Eunicella singularis
Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1794) 3.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Alcyonacea
Family: Gorgoniidae
Genus: Eunicella
Species:
E. singularis
Binomial name
Eunicella singularis
(Esper, 1791) [1]

Eunicella singularis, the white gorgonian, is a species of colonial soft coral, a sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae. It is found in the western Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea. It was first described in 1791 by the German naturalist Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper.

Contents

Description

Eunicella singularis can grow to a height of about 70 cm (28 in) and a width of 70 cm (28 in). It has a branching structure, growing from a thickened base with a small number of nearly-vertical branches and a few side branches. The surface of the branches is smooth, with the calyces from which the polyps protrude being indistinct. The general colour is white and the polyps are translucent and yellowish-brown or olive. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Eunicella singularis is found in the western Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea at depths of 10 to 60 metres (33 to 197 ft). It mainly occurs on shallowly sloping rock surfaces which are often partially covered with sediment, but also on pebbles, shells or other objects surrounded by sediment. It favours well-lit locations. [2]

Biology

The polyps of Eunicella singularis feed by spreading their tentacles to intercept zooplankton and organic particles floating past. This diet is supplemented by the energy provided, via photosynthesis, by the symbiotic dinoflagellates that are present in the tissues of the sea fan. [3]

Reproduction involves the release of planula larvae which spend somewhere between a few hours and several days in the open sea. Each larva then settles on the seabed and undergoes metamorphosis into a primary polyp within about four days. This founds a new colony and grows by budding off new polyps. The branches increase in length by up to about 33 mm (1.3 in) a year and colonies may live for twenty to thirty years. Predators may feed on the tissues and epibionts such as bryozoa may take up residence on denuded branches and cause further regression of the living tissues. The colonies may eventually be toppled by currents, perhaps because of the increased resistance to water flow produced by the epibionts. [4]

Alcyonium coralloides overgrowing Eunicella singularis Alcyonium coralloides (Pallas, 1766) var. rouge 3.jpg
Alcyonium coralloides overgrowing Eunicella singularis

A laboratory study found that at 24 °C (75 °F), thermal stress caused the polyps to remain unexpanded (and thus not feeding), respiration was decreased, and photosynthesis stopped (although the symbionts were still present). The sea fan was able to live on its reserves for several weeks during thermal stress before necrosis set in, but it recovered fully when the water temperature fell sufficiently. [3]

Ecology

In the Mediterranean Sea, Eunicella singularis is often overgrown by the soft coral Alcyonium coralloides which kills the sea fan's soft tissues as it spreads along the branches of its slow-growing host. [5]

The nudibranch Marionia blainvillea feeds on this sea fan and, where their ranges overlap, so does the whip fan nudibranch (Tritonia nilsodhneri). The gastropod mollusc Simnia spelta mimics E. singularis and feeds and lays its eggs on its branches. [5] The bare areas where the mollusc has removed the coenenchyme tissue soon become colonised by epibionts such as algae, tube worms, bryozoans, and colonial tunicates. The tissue may regrow and form cavities in which other organisms can flourish, thus forming a small but biodiverse community. [5]

Related Research Articles

Anthozoa Class of cnidarians without a medusa stage

Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. 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.

Alcyonacea An order of octocorals that do not produce massive calcium carbonate skeletons

Alcyonacea, or soft corals, are an order of corals. In addition to the fleshy soft corals, the order Alcyonacea now contains all species previously known as "gorgonian corals", that produce a more or less hard skeleton, though quite different from "true" corals (Scleractinia). These can be found in suborders Holaxonia, Scleraxonia, and Stolonifera. They are sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Common names for subsets of this order are sea fans and sea whips; others are similar to the sea pens of related order Pennatulacea. Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are normally erect, flattened, branching, and reminiscent of a fan. Others may be whiplike, bushy, or even encrusting. A colony can be several feet high and across, but only a few inches thick. They may be brightly coloured, often purple, red, or yellow. Photosynthetic gorgonians can be successfully kept in captive aquaria.

<i>Eunicella verrucosa</i> Species of coral

Eunicella verrucosa, the broad sea fan, pink sea fan or warty gorgonian, is a species of colonial Gorgonian "soft coral" in the family Gorgoniidae. It is native to the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Duvaucelia odhneri</i> Species of gastropod

Duvaucelia odhneri, is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.

Soft coral nudibranch Species of gastropod

The soft coral nudibranch, Tritonia sp. 1, as designated by Gosliner, 1987, is a species of small sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. As of November 2009, it was undescribed by science.

<i>Tritonicula hamnerorum</i> Species of gastropod

Tritonicula hamnerorum is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A number of Caribbean species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae.

<i>Simnia spelta</i> Species of gastropod

Simnia spelta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Ovulidae, the ovulids, which are cowrie allies sometimes called "false cowries". It was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus.

Multicoloured sea fan Species of coral

The multicoloured sea fan is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Melithaeidae.

<i>Leptogorgia hebes</i> Species of coral

Leptogorgia hebes, commonly known as the regal sea fan or false sea fan, is a species of soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae. It was formerly included in the genus Lophogorgia but that genus has been dismantled.

Whip fan Species of coral

The whip fan, also called the flagellar sea fan, is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae.

Nippled sea fan Species of coral

The nippled sea fan, is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae.

Sinuous sea fan Species of coral

The sinuous sea fan is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae.

<i>Paramuricea clavata</i> Species of coral

Paramuricea clavata, the violescent sea-whip, is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Plexauridae. It is found in shallow seas of the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the north-western Mediterranean Sea as well as Ionian Sea. This species was first described by the French naturalist Antoine Risso in 1826.

<i>Eunicella cavolini</i> Species of coral

Eunicella cavolini, commonly known as the yellow gorgonian or yellow sea whip, is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae. It is native to parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Ionian Sea where it is a common species.

<i>Leptogorgia sarmentosa</i> Species of coral

Leptogorgia sarmentosa is a species of colonial soft coral, a sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea, with a single find in the eastern Mediterranean.

<i>Alcyonium coralloides</i> Species of coral

Alcyonium coralloides, commonly known as false coral, is a colonial species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In the former location it generally grows as sheets or small lobes but in the latter it is parasitic and overgrows sea fans.

Pseudoplexaura porosa, commonly known as the porous sea rod or the porous false plexaura, is a species of gorgonian-type colonial octocoral in the family Plexauridae. It is native to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Savalia savaglia</i> Species of coral

Savalia savaglia, commonly known as gold coral, is a species of colonial false black coral in the family Parazoanthidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it often grows in association with a gorgonian. It is extremely long-lived, with a lifespan of 2,700 years, and develops into a large tree-like colony.

<i>Leiopathes glaberrima</i> Species of cnidarian

Leiopathes glaberrima is a species of black coral of the order Antipatharia found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Seas deep water habitats. A very slow-growing species, it is among the oldest living animals on the planet.

References

  1. ↑ van Ofwegen, Leen (2014). "Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1791)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  2. 1 2 Dumas, Jacques; Maran, Vincent; Ader, Denis & Huet, Sylvie (2014-01-27). "Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1791)". DORIS (in French). Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  3. 1 2 Ezzat, Leïla; Merle, Pierre-Laurent; Furla, Paola; Buttler, Alexandre & Ferrier-Pagès, Christine (2013). "The response of the Mediterranean gorgonian Eunicella singularis to thermal stress is independent of its nutritional regime". PLOS ONE. 8 (5): e64370. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064370 . PMC   3648542 . PMID   23667711.
  4. ↑ Weinberg, Steven & Weinberg, Francisca (1979). "The life cycle of a gorgonian: Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1794)". Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde. 48 (2): 127–137. doi:10.1163/26660644-04802003.
  5. 1 2 3 Perrier, Philippe; André, Frédéric & Péan, Michel (2014-01-17). "Alcyonium coralloides (Pallas, 1766)". DORIS (in French). Retrieved 2014-12-19.
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