H. B. ÖZALP, M. ALPARSLAN

701

Turk J Zool

2011; 35(5): 701-705

© TÜBİTAK

doi:10.3906/zoo-0907-80

Th e fi rst record of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767)

(Anthozoa, Scleractinia) from the Marmara Sea

Hasan Barış ÖZALP*, Mustafa ALPARSLAN

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Marine Biology, 17100 Çanakkale - TURKEY

Received: 27.07.2009

Abstract: Th e Scleractinian Cladocora caespitosa is reported for the fi rst time from the Marmara Sea, Turkey. Five

colonies of the elliptical Cladocora caespitosa were discovered at 7 m by scuba divers around Posidonia oceanica beds

colonising a substrate of sand and rock. Th e colonies’ characteristics were recorded with underwater apparatus with a

close-up device and with a video system. Th e present paper provides the new updated area of the species on the Turkish

coast.

Key words: Scleractinian, Faviidae, Cladocora caespitosa, Marmara Sea, fi rst record

Marmara Denizi’nden Cladocora caespitosa Linnaeus 1767’nın ilk kaydı

Özet: Bu çalışmada ince tüp mercan Cladocora caespitosa Marmara Denizi’nden ilk kez rapor edilmektedir. Eliptik şekilli

beş farklı Cladocora caespitosa kolonileri scuba dalgıçları tarafından 7 metre derinlikte Posidonia oceanica çayırları

etrafında bulunmuştur. Dip bölgedeki substrat yapısı aynı zamanda yer yer gözlenen kum ve kaya oluşumlarından

meydana gelmektedir. Alandaki mercan kolonilerinin varlığı manta-tow tekniği uygulanarak saptanmıştır. Kolonilerin

scuba dalgıçları tarafından sualtında makro fotoğrafl arı çekilmiş ve video kayıtları yapılmıştır. Ek olarak, türün Türkiye

kıyılarındaki yeni yayılım alanı belirtilmiştir.

Anahtar sözcükler: Scleractinian, Faviidae, Cladocora caespitosa, Marmara Denizi, ilk kayıt

Research Article

* E-mail: barisozalp@comu.edu.tr

Introduction

Coral reefs are one of the richest ecosystems in the world (Okamoto et al., 1998). Corals are key species in marine life and are used as bioindicators to assess the impact of climate change on marine communities (Okamoto et al., 1998; Wilkinson et

al., 2000). Th e Scleractinian Cladocora caespitosa is the only colonial and zooaxantellate coral in the Mediterranean (Zibrowius, 1980; Peirano et al., 1999; Veron and Staff ord-Smith, 2000). Th e species is one of the major carbonate producers among the Mediterranean organisms (Peirano et al., 2001;

Th e fi rst record of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767) (Anthozoa, Scleractinia) from the Marmara Sea

702

Montagna et al., 2007). It lives on rocky and sandy bottoms and is rarely found below 30 m of depth (Kružić et al., 2008).

Studies on hard corals and investigations on Anthozoan species along the Turkish coasts have been very limited, except for some reference books and the related articles on benthic ecosystems. Here we report a new record of Cladocora caespitosa for the Marmara Sea (Veron, 2000). Colonies of the coral are described and the geographical distribution of the species in the Mediterranean Sea is discussed.

Materials and methods

To verify the abundance of the coral, an area of about 6 km2 on the western side of the Çanakkale Strait (Figure 1) along the coast of Dardanos Campus

was investigated with the manta tow technique. Five colonies of the thin tube coral Cladocora caespitosa were found in 2009 at 7 m depth in the Çanakkale Strait (Dardanelles), the Marmara Sea (GPS position: 40°04ʹ23ʺN, 26°21ʹ19ʺE). Th e coral colonizes some rocks in one Posidonia oceanica bed implanted on a sand bottom. No bleaching events were found.

Th e major axis D1, the minor axis D2, and the height H of the colonies were measured with a plastic ruler in situ (Figure 2 and Table). In addition to these parameters, the calix diameter (Cd) of one corallite (Figure 3) located in the middle of each colony was measured with a calliper at 1/20 of mm accuracy level. Aft er the measurements, all colonies were macro-photographed and recorded with Nimar Underwater Video System. Two corallites were sampled from the centre of 2 colonies (colonies 1 and

ÇanakkaleStrait

26°21’

50

3333

40°04’

WK2323

1818

WK 6

TURKEY

N

4.1

66

3.3

3.2

4

5

4.8

10

2040

Figure 1. Map of the investigated station in Çanakkale strait.

H. B. ÖZALP, M. ALPARSLAN

703

2) with pointed-tip pincers to date them in the future with the schlerochronological technique (Peirano et al., 1999). Th e corallites were washed to remove the sediment and immersed in a peroxide solution for 1 day to clear the organic matter, and then were dried at 80 °C for 48 h in the laboratory (Figure 4).

Th e lengths of 2 corallites showed in Figure 4 are:

L1 (Length of the fi rst corallite): 3 cm

L2 (Length of the second corallite): 3.38 cm.

Results and discussion

Th e scleractinian Cladocora caespitosa previously reported from areas in the north-western Aegean Sea at Gökçeada Island (Öztürk, 2004) (Zibrowius, 1979, for the Greek coast), in Edremit Bay (Çınar, 2003

Figure 2. Photograph of colony no. 1. Lines and letters show the

underwater measurements of length (D1), width (D2),

and height (H) of the colony.

Figure 3. Macro photographs of Cladocora caespitosa

Table. Measurements of 5 colonies observed. Th e units are in centimetres.

Colony number 1 2 3 4 5

Length (D1) 66 48 55 29 35

Width (D2) 51 37 40 10 12

Height (H) 1 6 5 8 4

Calix diameter (Cd) 0.495 0.42 0.398 0.316 0.346

1 cm

Figure 4. Photograph of the 2 corallites of Cladocora, on the

left the corallite from colony no. 1, on the right from

colony no. 2.

Th e fi rst record of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767) (Anthozoa, Scleractinia) from the Marmara Sea

704

and Zibrowius, 1979, for the Greek coast) has been observed for the fi rst time in the Marmara Sea in the Strait of Çanakkale (Figures 5 and 6). Th e study provides a more expanded geographical distribution of the species.

Th e Marmara Sea diff ers in salinity and temperature values from the Mediterranean (Oğuz and Tuğrul, 1998). As is well known, mean salinity value and annually determined temperature record as the main diff erences in the Çanakkale Strait

Figure 5. Global distribution of Cladocora caespitosa in the Mediterranean and Aegean

Sea (from: Peirano et al, 1998-2004; Veron, 2000; Çınar, 2003; Kružić and

Benković, 2008; Peirano et al., 2009). Th e yellow points are the living corals at

depths between 2 and 40 m. Th e black and white points are fossil records of

C. caespitosa (Peirano et al. and references therein, 2009).

Figure 6. Cladocora caespitosa: red quadrats are records from the Northern Aegean Sea from bibliography (Zibrowius, 1979; Çınar,

2003; Öztürk, 2004); the yellow quadrats show the new records from the Çanakkale Strait (Dardanelles).

H. B. ÖZALP, M. ALPARSLAN

705

(Marmara Sea) are lower than in the Mediterranean (Büyükateş and İnanmaz, 2007). Th us it can be stated that the Mediterranean endemic coral Cladocora caespitosa can live in the strait’s diff erent physicochemical conditions.

It is known from fossil records that Cladocora caespitosa was more abundant and reef-forming in warmer phases of the Quaternary (Peirano, 2007). Today, however, the coral is less abundant since it suff ered mortality events during the heat waves of the last 2 decades (Metalpa et al., 2005). At the present time, studies on population dynamics of Cladocora caespitosa are still inadequate. Moreover, the question as to what will happen to Cladocora caespitosa in a warming Mediterranean Sea in the future still waits to be answered (Bianchi, 2007). Since mean salinity and temperature values in the Marmara Sea are

lower than the parameters in the Mediterranean Sea, it shows that the species has started to spread in a diff erent zone in terms of physico-chemical data. Th e new record of the species in the Marmara Sea is important in that it will provide the opportunity to add new information on the biology of C. caespitosa in one area dissimilar from the Mediterranean Sea both in salinity and seasonal temperature values.

Acknowledgements

Th e authors are deeply indebted to Dr. Andrea PEIRANO from the ENEA Marine Environment Research Center of La Spezia (Italy) for his suggestions. Th ey are also very thankful to Mehmet GÜNAYDIN, authority of Çanakkale Underwater Sport Club, for obtaining scuba and some other technical underwater equipment.

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