10.2.10 Echinodermata
The sea star Coronaster briareus is mainly known from the western Atlantic, where
it extends from New Jersey to Venezuela and possibly South Brazil (Clark and
Downey 1992). In the eastern Atlantic, it was recorded from the Cape Verde Islands
and some seamounts (Clark and Downey 1992). Recently, several individuals of this
starfish were reported for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea near the Maltese
Islands between 240 and 562 m (Evans et al. 2018). Notwithstanding, one orangered specimen was photographed in the southern flank of El Idrissi Bank, at 365 m
depth (Hebbeln et al. 2009, Fig. 5.8c as Coronaster sp.).
The large starfish Luidia atlantidea, known hitherto in the Atlantic coasts of
northwestern Africa, has been recently reported for the first time in the European
margin of the Alboran Sea (Gallardo-Roldán et al. 2015). Most individuals were
collected close to La Caleta de Vélez and Fuengirola. It was mainly found in shallow
bottoms of fine sand with pebbles and/or bioclasts, where this starfish generally
occurs together with the dominant molluscs Chamelea gallina and Donax trunculus.
10.3 Habitat-Forming Species
The term “animal forests” has been introduced to describe megabenthic communities
dominated by sessile suspension feeder invertebrates (such as sponges, cnidarians or
bivalves among others). These communities are complex three-dimensional environments that support a high biodiversity, by providing structure and shelter to many
other organisms (Rossi et al. 2017). Animal forests are distributed worldwide,
ranging from tropical to polar latitudes and from shallow to deep-sea bottoms.
Some of the most characteristic underwater animal forest seascapes of the Alboran
Sea are composed of anthozoans, such as the gorgonians and red and black coral
forests, the fields of sea pens or the scleractinians forming the cold-water coral reefs.
Some bivalves and sponges can also form highly complex and diverse threedimensional structures.
10.3.1 Sponges
Sponges are an important component of the deep-shelf benthos, particularly on
rocky bottoms, where they make peculiar assemblages characterized by a wide
diversity of small, erect species forming a dense “undergrowth” among a scatter of
large sponges and gorgonians (Sitjà and Maldonado 2014). Some of them are key
bioengineer species forming three-dimensional structures during their long lifespans
that provide suitable habitats for a wide variety of other marine species. A high
diversity and abundance of small erect species growing among the large astrophorids
374
J. Templado et al.
The sea star Coronaster briareus is mainly known from the western Atlantic, where
it extends from New Jersey to Venezuela and possibly South Brazil (Clark and
Downey 1992). In the eastern Atlantic, it was recorded from the Cape Verde Islands
and some seamounts (Clark and Downey 1992). Recently, several individuals of this
starfish were reported for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea near the Maltese
Islands between 240 and 562 m (Evans et al. 2018). Notwithstanding, one orangered specimen was photographed in the southern flank of El Idrissi Bank, at 365 m
depth (Hebbeln et al. 2009, Fig. 5.8c as Coronaster sp.).
The large starfish Luidia atlantidea, known hitherto in the Atlantic coasts of
northwestern Africa, has been recently reported for the first time in the European
margin of the Alboran Sea (Gallardo-Roldán et al. 2015). Most individuals were
collected close to La Caleta de Vélez and Fuengirola. It was mainly found in shallow
bottoms of fine sand with pebbles and/or bioclasts, where this starfish generally
occurs together with the dominant molluscs Chamelea gallina and Donax trunculus.
10.3 Habitat-Forming Species
The term “animal forests” has been introduced to describe megabenthic communities
dominated by sessile suspension feeder invertebrates (such as sponges, cnidarians or
bivalves among others). These communities are complex three-dimensional environments that support a high biodiversity, by providing structure and shelter to many
other organisms (Rossi et al. 2017). Animal forests are distributed worldwide,
ranging from tropical to polar latitudes and from shallow to deep-sea bottoms.
Some of the most characteristic underwater animal forest seascapes of the Alboran
Sea are composed of anthozoans, such as the gorgonians and red and black coral
forests, the fields of sea pens or the scleractinians forming the cold-water coral reefs.
Some bivalves and sponges can also form highly complex and diverse threedimensional structures.
10.3.1 Sponges
Sponges are an important component of the deep-shelf benthos, particularly on
rocky bottoms, where they make peculiar assemblages characterized by a wide
diversity of small, erect species forming a dense “undergrowth” among a scatter of
large sponges and gorgonians (Sitjà and Maldonado 2014). Some of them are key
bioengineer species forming three-dimensional structures during their long lifespans
that provide suitable habitats for a wide variety of other marine species. A high
diversity and abundance of small erect species growing among the large astrophorids
374
J. Templado et al.