Title: Coral tissue mortality of the coral <i>Cladocora caespitosa</i> caused by gastropod <i>Coralliophila meyendorffi</i> in the Mljet National Park (eastern Adriatic Sea)
Abstract:The corallivorous gastropod Coralliophila meyendorffi (family Coralliophilidae) is a well-known predator of the coral Cladocora caespitosa , particularly in the eastern Adriatic Sea, where population ...The corallivorous gastropod Coralliophila meyendorffi (family Coralliophilidae) is a well-known predator of the coral Cladocora caespitosa , particularly in the eastern Adriatic Sea, where population outbreaks can drastically reduce coral cover. Coralliophila meyendorffi ranges in size from 5 to 40 mm in shell total length, and smaller specimens are often found living with the coral C. caespitosa. Specimens of C. meyendorffi feed exclusively on live coral tissue, stripping it from the calcium carbonate skeleton. Recent outbreaks of the gastropod C. meyendorffi have caused considerable damage on a C. caespitosa bank in Veliko Jezero (the Mljet National Park, eastern Adriatic Sea). The bank occurs at depths between 6 and 18 m, covering a 65 m 2 area. During summer of 2010, a substantial outbreak affected about 5%t of the coral colonies. The gastropods were highly aggregated in sheltered areas of the coral bank (up to 41 specimens/dm 2 ) with smaller clusters (from 8 to 12 specimens/dm 2 ) on coral colonies that were influenced by strong bottom currents (up to 1.23 ms −1 ).Read More
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-07-23
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 9
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