First in situ documentation of a population of the coral Dendrophyllia ramea off Cyprus (Levantine Sea) and evidence of human impacts

Covadonga OREJAS, Andrea GORI, Carlos JIMÉNEZ, Jesús RIVERA, Claudio LO IACONO, Louis HADJIOANNOU, Vasilis ANDREOU and Antonis PETROU, 2017. First in situ documentation of a population of the coral Dendrophyllia ramea off Cyprus (Levantine Sea) and evidence of human impacts. Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies. 19: 15-16 (2017)

Abstract: In June 2015, the deepest population of the coral Dendrophyllia ramea (Linnaeus, 1758) observed until the present day in the Mediterranean Sea, was discovered on soft bottom areas off Protaras, eastern Cyprus (35º02′N, 34º05′E). During the CYCLAMEN research expedition on board the RV AEGAEO, video data (ROV Max ROVER) showed a healthy, well-developed and dense population of D. ramea at 125-170 m depth. Video surveys revealed numerous and dense patches (up to 4 colonies m－2) of candelabra-shaped D. ramea colonies (Fig. 1A) of different lengths and heights, some larger than 50 cm (Fig. 1B).

Keywords: Temperate coral, Levantine Sea, Mediterranean, population density, anthropogenic impact