Murillo, F. J., Durán Muñoz, P., Altuna, A., and Serrano, A. 2011. Distribution of deep-water corals of the Flemish Cap, Flemish Pass, and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland (Northwest Atlantic Ocean): interaction with fishing activities. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 319–332. The distribution of deep-water corals of the Flemish Cap, Flemish Pass, and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland is described based on bycatch from Spanish/EU bottom trawl groundfish surveys between 40 and 1500 m depth. In all, 37 taxa of deep-water corals were identified in the study area: 21 alcyonaceans (including the gorgonians), 11 pennatulaceans, 2 solitary scleractinians, and 3 antipatharians. The greatest diversity of coral species was on the Flemish Cap. Corals were most abundant along the continental slope, between 600 and 1300 m depth. Soft corals (alcyonaceans), sea fans (gorgonians), and black corals (antipatharians) were most common on bedrock or gravel, whereas sea pens (pennatulaceans) and cup corals (solitary scleractinians) were found primarily on mud. The biomass of deep-water corals in the bycatches was highest in previously lightly trawled or untrawled areas, and generally low in the regularly fished grounds. The information derived from bottom-trawl bycatch records is not sufficient to map vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) accurately, but pending more detailed habitat mapping, it provides a valuable indication of the presence/absence of VMEs that can be used to propose the candidate areas for bottom fishery closures or other conservation measures.

No abstract

Studies on the distribution of scleractinian corals in the Bay of Biscay were relatively numerous during the nineteenth and the Wrst half of the twentieth century. Yet, recent reports are scattered, sometimes unpublished, and therefore knowledge about the current coral occurrence in the area is limited. This study aims at compiling the available historical and more recently collected information on the occurrence of scleractinian corals in the Bay of Biscay. Data from two recent cruises are included and compared with previous explored coral sites from as early as 1830 up to 1995. A database of 347 records including 34 described species of scleractinians highlights that the slope of the Bay of Biscay is an important habitat for scleractinians. This could be expected due to the high topographic relief providing the necessary hard substrate and accelerated bottom current Xow that corals require. Further exploration of the occurrence and ecology of corals in the area is recommended to support the conservation of cold-water coral reefs along the European margin.

No abstract

No abstract

Summary:The sea pens Funiculina quadrangularis, Pennatula aculeata, Pennatula phosphorea, Pteroeides spinosum and Veretillum cynomorium are known to be characteristic species of the habitat 'pennatulacean communities on circalittoral and upper bathyal soft bottoms', described recently on the northern Atlantic Spanish shelf under the terms of the EU directives. Distribution, abundance and environmental data collected from 1995 to 2010 in the Northern Spanish Shelf Groundfish Surveys in the Cantabrian Sea and off Galicia (SPNGFS) were analysed. Although low densities of sea pens were commonly found over the years, some aggregations were shown. Multivariate analysis separated the aggregations of F. quadrangularis and of Pennatula spp. found on circalittoral soft bottoms. In addition, evidence of aggregations of F. quadrangularis on upper bathyal sites was also found. Depth and longitude, which were closely related to organic matter and sediment particle size, were key factors in determining the distribution and abundance of these aggregations. However, very little information on distribution and density of the species P. spinosum and V. cynomorium was obtained. Details of community composition of F. quadrangularis and Pennatula spp. were studied and compared with those of the OSPAR habitat "sea pen and burrowing megafauna communities" in other areas. The results improve our knowledge concerning sea pen communities in the southern Bay of Biscay and contribute to a global assessment of the status of these communities in the northeast Atlantic.Keywords: sea pens; southern Bay of Biscay; abundance; distribution; habitat. Agregaciones de pennatuláceos en la plataforma del norte de España: distribución y agrupaciones faunísticasResumen: Los pennatuláceos Funiculina quadrangularis, Pennatula aculeata, Pennatula phosphorea, Pteroeides spinosum y Veretillum cynomorium son especies características del hábitat "comunidades de pennatuláceos sobre fondos blandos profundos y circalitorales" descrito recientemente en la plataforma noratlántica española bajo directrices europeas. Datos de distribución, abundancia y ambientales recogidos desde 1995 hasta 2010 en las campañas demersales de la plataforma del norte de España y Galicia (SPNGFS) han sido analizados. Aunque predominan las bajas densidades de pennatuláceos a lo largo de los años, se han encontrado agregaciones. El análisis multivariante ha separado las agregaciones encontradas de F. quadrangularis y Pennatula spp. en los fondos blandos circalitorales. Además, se han encontrado agregaciones de F. quadrangularis en los fondos blandos profundos. La profundidad y la longitud, estrechamente relacionadas con el contenido de materia orgánica y el tamaño de partícula del sedimento, han sido los factores clave en la distribución y abundancia de estas agregaciones. Sin embargo, se ha obtenido poca información de la distribución y densidad de las especies P. spinosum y V. cynomorium. Se ha estudiado la composición de las comunidades de F. quadrangularis y Pennatula spp. y se ha comp...

No abstract

No abstract