10.5 Threatened Species
The protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas (SPA) and Biological Diversity
in the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) established lists of endangered or
threatened marine species (Annex II) and of species whose exploitation is regulated
(Annex III) (Templado et al. 2004). Many of them were previously included in the
Annexes of the Bern Convention. In addition, only a handful of marine invertebrates
appear in other international conventions (Habitat Directive 92/43/CEE; CITES)
(Ramos et al. 2001) or international Red Lists (IUCN) (Otero et al. 2017). The
majority of the marine invertebrates included in these conventions and lists of the
Mediterranean Sea are present in the Alboran Sea (66 species, see Table 10.1).
The SPA and Biodiversity Protocol was signed in 1995 by most of the Mediterranean countries and entered into force in 1999 in Spain and in 2009 in Morocco.
The last Amendments to Annexes II and III entered into force in both countries in
2015. The initial list of Annex II was mainly composed of molluscs, with some
sponges and a few cnidarians, crustaceans and echinoderms. That is why the
modification of Annexes was proposed in 2013 during the SPA Focal Points meeting
in order to improve the representativeness of deep-sea corals (Aguilar and Marín
2013). As a result, the last amendment of 2015 incorporated 11 cnidarians, among
which there are several species of black corals; the gorgonians Ellisella
pareplexauroides, Callogorgia verticillata and Eunicella verrucosa; and the
scleractinians Cladocora caespitosa, C. debilis, Madrepora oculata and
Desmophyllum pertusum. At the same time, the IUCN promoted a regional workshop on Mediterranean anthozoans Red List (September–October 2014), as a result
of which new species of cnidarians were included in the IUCN Red List (Otero et al.
2017). Among the species not included in previous agreements stands out the
bamboo coral Isidella elongata, listed as “critically endangered”. Further, the
scleractinian corals Desmophyllum dianthus and Dendrophyllia cornigera were
listed as “endangered”, and the gorgonian Paramuricea clavata, the coral
Dendrophyllia ramea and the sea pens Funiculina quadrangularis, Pennatula
rubra, P. phosphorea and Pteroeides griseum as “vulnerable”. Consequently, the
cnidarians is the group with the highest number of protected or regulated species in
the Alboran Sea, with 24 species (23 anthozoans and 1 hydrozoan), followed by
molluscs with 20 species (14 gastropods and 6 bivalves), sponges (9 species),
crustaceans (8 species) and echinoderms (5 species) (see Table 10.1).
Few of the threatened species live in the intertidal fringe, such as the gastropods
Patella ferruginea, a critically endangered limpet with its best populations in the
Alboran Sea, and the vermetid Dendropoma lebeche, which builds singular reefs in
association with calcareous algae. Most of the protected species are subtidal and can
live in different habitats and substrates, such as rocks or caves (as the coral Astroides
calycularis) or seagrass meadows (Pinna nobilis). For these four species, included in
the Spanish Catalogue of Endangered Species, the Alboran Sea constitutes the
western limit of distribution since they do not extend to the Atlantic Ocean or are
only found in areas close to the Strait of Gibraltar. Pinna nobilis has been declared as
398
J. Templado et al.
The protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas (SPA) and Biological Diversity
in the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) established lists of endangered or
threatened marine species (Annex II) and of species whose exploitation is regulated
(Annex III) (Templado et al. 2004). Many of them were previously included in the
Annexes of the Bern Convention. In addition, only a handful of marine invertebrates
appear in other international conventions (Habitat Directive 92/43/CEE; CITES)
(Ramos et al. 2001) or international Red Lists (IUCN) (Otero et al. 2017). The
majority of the marine invertebrates included in these conventions and lists of the
Mediterranean Sea are present in the Alboran Sea (66 species, see Table 10.1).
The SPA and Biodiversity Protocol was signed in 1995 by most of the Mediterranean countries and entered into force in 1999 in Spain and in 2009 in Morocco.
The last Amendments to Annexes II and III entered into force in both countries in
2015. The initial list of Annex II was mainly composed of molluscs, with some
sponges and a few cnidarians, crustaceans and echinoderms. That is why the
modification of Annexes was proposed in 2013 during the SPA Focal Points meeting
in order to improve the representativeness of deep-sea corals (Aguilar and Marín
2013). As a result, the last amendment of 2015 incorporated 11 cnidarians, among
which there are several species of black corals; the gorgonians Ellisella
pareplexauroides, Callogorgia verticillata and Eunicella verrucosa; and the
scleractinians Cladocora caespitosa, C. debilis, Madrepora oculata and
Desmophyllum pertusum. At the same time, the IUCN promoted a regional workshop on Mediterranean anthozoans Red List (September–October 2014), as a result
of which new species of cnidarians were included in the IUCN Red List (Otero et al.
2017). Among the species not included in previous agreements stands out the
bamboo coral Isidella elongata, listed as “critically endangered”. Further, the
scleractinian corals Desmophyllum dianthus and Dendrophyllia cornigera were
listed as “endangered”, and the gorgonian Paramuricea clavata, the coral
Dendrophyllia ramea and the sea pens Funiculina quadrangularis, Pennatula
rubra, P. phosphorea and Pteroeides griseum as “vulnerable”. Consequently, the
cnidarians is the group with the highest number of protected or regulated species in
the Alboran Sea, with 24 species (23 anthozoans and 1 hydrozoan), followed by
molluscs with 20 species (14 gastropods and 6 bivalves), sponges (9 species),
crustaceans (8 species) and echinoderms (5 species) (see Table 10.1).
Few of the threatened species live in the intertidal fringe, such as the gastropods
Patella ferruginea, a critically endangered limpet with its best populations in the
Alboran Sea, and the vermetid Dendropoma lebeche, which builds singular reefs in
association with calcareous algae. Most of the protected species are subtidal and can
live in different habitats and substrates, such as rocks or caves (as the coral Astroides
calycularis) or seagrass meadows (Pinna nobilis). For these four species, included in
the Spanish Catalogue of Endangered Species, the Alboran Sea constitutes the
western limit of distribution since they do not extend to the Atlantic Ocean or are
only found in areas close to the Strait of Gibraltar. Pinna nobilis has been declared as
398
J. Templado et al.