Population structure of an exploited benthic cnidarian: the case study of red coral (Corallium rubrum L.)

An overexploited Italian treasure: past and present distribution and exploitation of the precious red coral Corallium rubrum (L., 1758) (Cnidaria: Anthozoa)

“…Red coral banks, even though overexploited, are still widespread along the entire Italian coast, mainly in shallow waters, where populations show a remarkable persistence with a generalised shift towards smaller colony sizes and higher density populations (Santangelo & Abbiati 2001;Tsounis et al 2006;. These populations, mainly inside MPAs, represent an important attraction for recreational divers (Bramanti et al 2011).…”

A small-scale fishery near a rocky littoral marine reserve in the northwestern Mediterranean (Medes Islands) after two decades of fishing prohibition

“…The colonies of red coral (Corallium rubrum), key ecosystem engineering species of Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages, are older and larger than in harvested areas (Tsounis et al 2006). However, marine reserves can also have adverse effects for some species.…”

“…Monitoring targets include Posidonia oceanica meadows, the gorgonian Paramuricea clavata, red coral Corallium rubrum, the sea urchin Paracentropus lividus, the European spiny lobster Palinurus elephas, the dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus and fishes at the community level. Earlier studies have assessed the reserve performance and effects on adult fish (García-Rubies and Zabala 1990, Macpherson et al 2000, Hereu et al 2006, ichthyoplankton (Sabatés et al 2003, López-Sanz et al 2009, crustaceans (Díaz et al 2005), red coral (Tsounis et al 2006), and sea urchins . Despite this considerable research effort the fishing activity was not taken into account in the long-term study of the performance of the marine reserve.…”

Quantifying the decline in Corallium rubrum populations: Reply to Santangelo & Bramanti (2010)

“…This trend has been highlighted in several other studies (Garrabou & Harmelin 2002, Tsounis 2005, Tsounis et al 2006, Rossi et al 2008) and reflects only those shallow areas targeted historically and/or currently by fisheries, and not deep-water populations or shallow-water populations like Calafuria, which were never commercially viable. These conclusions are further supported by differences observed between shallow fished areas and adjacent marine protected areas (MPAs): colonies were substantially larger in an MPA, but still smaller than the historic size structure because the closure had not been long enough to allow full recovery (Tsounis 2005).…”

“…Using photographs and coral skeletons, the number of polyps and number of branches per colony for colonies of different sizes were determined and compared to published values on reproduction and size structure to estimate the potential reproductive output in different populations. The study considered 4 scenarios off Costa Brava, Spain: shallow-water habitats targeted by coral fisheries, shallow areas closed to fishing, deep-water populations that had not been fished, and historic population structure from shallow water (Garcia-Rodriguez & Massò 1986, Tsounis 2005, Tsounis et al 2006, Rossi et al 2008); these were compared to a thoroughly studied shallow-water population in Calafuria, Italy, that exhibited high turnover and was dominated by small, young colonies that had little commercial value (Santangelo et al 2007). …”