to at least 110 m. Both species are widely distributed in the Alboran Sea and Strait of
Gibraltar (Templado et al. 2006; Ocaña et al. 2009).
Leptogorgia sarmentosa (Figs. 10.2 and 10.20) shows a patchy distribution
(Templado et al. 2006; Ocaña et al. 2009). It is a quite resistant species, able to
thrive in very shallow waters and harsh environmental conditions, such as those
typical of harbour habitats (Betti et al. 2018) and possess the ability to tolerate high
silting levels and turbid waters.
Eunicella gazella and E. labiata are West African gorgonians distributed from
Portugal to Angola, entering the Alboran Sea where they show a patchy and
dispersed distribution (Abou Oualid et al. 2016). These species are usually found
as isolated colonies in shady rocky enclaves between 5 and 20 m. Eunicella labiata
is the most frequent gorgonian on the coastal bottoms of the Algarve (Cúrdia et al.
2013), but in the Alboran Sea, it has been only recorded from the Granada coast and
the Chafarinas Islands (Sánchez-Tocino et al. 2009), while E. gazella reaches the
Columbretes Islands in the Balearic Sea (Templado et al. 2002).
With a tree-like morphology often moulded on that of gorgonians, the so-called
gold coral Savalia savaglia (Fig. 10.9) (an epizoic zoanthid species) may form a
facies together with gorgonians, with a significant role in benthic assemblages due to
their relatively long life span. It is the sole zoanthid able to produce a rigid and thicklayered proteinaceous skeleton, which grows on the stem of gorgonians for several
hundreds of years and can reach up to 2 m high, with a main trunk diameter up to
15 cm (Cerrano et al. 2010). This species has been recorded sporadically in the
Mediterranean Sea, mainly in circalittoral coralligenous bottoms, but recent discoveries have extended its bathymetric range down to 900 m in the deep coral communities (Giusti et al. 2015).
Monospecific facies with high density of colonies of S. savaglia have been found
in some circalittoral bottoms of the Canary Islands, where it can be confused with
Antipathozoanthus macaronesicus (Ocaña et al. 2007). Further, some colonies have
recently been found in northeastern Spain at a depth of 26–29 m (Altuna et al. 2010).
In the area of the Strait of Gibraltar and Alboran Sea, sparse colonies of S. savaglia
have been recorded within gorgonian forests, between 20 and 40 m in depth in Ceuta
(Ocaña et al. 2009), Cape Tres Forcas and Chafarinas Islands (González García et al.
2005), between 40 and 90 m in rocky outcrops around the Alboran Island (Templado
et al. 2006) and in bathyal rocky bottoms down to 900 m in Avempace and Seco de
los Olivos Banks (Pardo et al. 2011; de la Torriente et al. 2018).
Several species of gorgonians can be found on the deeper part of the continental
shelf (at about 110–200 m depth), often occurring in multispecific assemblages,
which are more frequent in the rocky outcrops that occur toward the shelf edge.
Among other species, Paramuricea macrospina, Swiftia pallida, S. dubia,
Acanthogorgia hirsuta, Viminella flagellum, Bebrice mollis, Eunicella filiformis,
E. verrucosa and Callogorgia verticillata are typical gorgonians of these bottoms
(Gori et al. 2017) and sometimes extend their distribution deeper onto the upper
slope. Coexistence is observed at low and intermediate densities among large(e.g. C. verticillata), medium- (e.g. E. verrucosa) and small-sized species (Swiftia
378
J. Templado et al.
Gibraltar (Templado et al. 2006; Ocaña et al. 2009).
Leptogorgia sarmentosa (Figs. 10.2 and 10.20) shows a patchy distribution
(Templado et al. 2006; Ocaña et al. 2009). It is a quite resistant species, able to
thrive in very shallow waters and harsh environmental conditions, such as those
typical of harbour habitats (Betti et al. 2018) and possess the ability to tolerate high
silting levels and turbid waters.
Eunicella gazella and E. labiata are West African gorgonians distributed from
Portugal to Angola, entering the Alboran Sea where they show a patchy and
dispersed distribution (Abou Oualid et al. 2016). These species are usually found
as isolated colonies in shady rocky enclaves between 5 and 20 m. Eunicella labiata
is the most frequent gorgonian on the coastal bottoms of the Algarve (Cúrdia et al.
2013), but in the Alboran Sea, it has been only recorded from the Granada coast and
the Chafarinas Islands (Sánchez-Tocino et al. 2009), while E. gazella reaches the
Columbretes Islands in the Balearic Sea (Templado et al. 2002).
With a tree-like morphology often moulded on that of gorgonians, the so-called
gold coral Savalia savaglia (Fig. 10.9) (an epizoic zoanthid species) may form a
facies together with gorgonians, with a significant role in benthic assemblages due to
their relatively long life span. It is the sole zoanthid able to produce a rigid and thicklayered proteinaceous skeleton, which grows on the stem of gorgonians for several
hundreds of years and can reach up to 2 m high, with a main trunk diameter up to
15 cm (Cerrano et al. 2010). This species has been recorded sporadically in the
Mediterranean Sea, mainly in circalittoral coralligenous bottoms, but recent discoveries have extended its bathymetric range down to 900 m in the deep coral communities (Giusti et al. 2015).
Monospecific facies with high density of colonies of S. savaglia have been found
in some circalittoral bottoms of the Canary Islands, where it can be confused with
Antipathozoanthus macaronesicus (Ocaña et al. 2007). Further, some colonies have
recently been found in northeastern Spain at a depth of 26–29 m (Altuna et al. 2010).
In the area of the Strait of Gibraltar and Alboran Sea, sparse colonies of S. savaglia
have been recorded within gorgonian forests, between 20 and 40 m in depth in Ceuta
(Ocaña et al. 2009), Cape Tres Forcas and Chafarinas Islands (González García et al.
2005), between 40 and 90 m in rocky outcrops around the Alboran Island (Templado
et al. 2006) and in bathyal rocky bottoms down to 900 m in Avempace and Seco de
los Olivos Banks (Pardo et al. 2011; de la Torriente et al. 2018).
Several species of gorgonians can be found on the deeper part of the continental
shelf (at about 110–200 m depth), often occurring in multispecific assemblages,
which are more frequent in the rocky outcrops that occur toward the shelf edge.
Among other species, Paramuricea macrospina, Swiftia pallida, S. dubia,
Acanthogorgia hirsuta, Viminella flagellum, Bebrice mollis, Eunicella filiformis,
E. verrucosa and Callogorgia verticillata are typical gorgonians of these bottoms
(Gori et al. 2017) and sometimes extend their distribution deeper onto the upper
slope. Coexistence is observed at low and intermediate densities among large(e.g. C. verticillata), medium- (e.g. E. verrucosa) and small-sized species (Swiftia
378
J. Templado et al.