Diversity and distribution of azooxanthellate corals in the Colombian Caribbean

Nadiezhda Santodomingo,Isabel Cristina Chacón-Gómez,Paola Flórez,Leen P Van Ofwegen,Bert W Hoeksema,Javier Reyes

doi:10.1007/s12526-012-0131-6

Abstract

During the last decade, knowledge of azooxanthellate corals in the Colombian Caribbean has increased through exploration campaigns by the Marine and Coastal Research Institute (INVEMAR). The distribution of 142 species of corals, including hard corals (Scleractinia 64 species), black corals (Antipatharia 18 species), and soft corals (Octocorallia 60 species) is assessed. Statistical analyses were performed to examine the coral species distribution through a geographic gradient (210 stations in 8 sectors) and a bathymetric range (10–520 m depth). Four principal patterns were observed: (1) northeastern distribution (46 species), (2) southwestern distribution (11 species), (3) association with azooxanthellate coral bioherms (37 species), and (4) widespread (44 species). In addition, 4 species were only found around the San Andres Archipelago (insular pattern). Two main oceanographic factors were identified to play a role in the northeast versus southwest coral fauna separation, La Guajira upwelling system and the Magdalena River influx. These patterns appear to be depth-related, since the separation between northeast and southwest was mainly shown by the shallow-water coral fauna, whereas most of the deep-water corals (>200 m depth) were widely distributed along the Colombian Caribbean coastline. These data were also analyzed from a conservation perspective in order to propose new strategies for the protection of the Colombian Caribbean coral fauna.

Highlights

In response to the worldwide decline in marine diversity (Gaston 2000; Pandolfi et al 2005), a paradigm shift has occurred towards better and more precautionary conservation and management of marine resources (Ludwig et al 1993; Dayton 1998)
Over 50 % of the scleractinians belonged to the Caryophylliidae
The antipatharians were represented by 18 species belonging to four families (ESM 1 Fig. S6)

Summary

Introduction

In response to the worldwide decline in marine diversity (Gaston 2000; Pandolfi et al 2005), a paradigm shift has occurred towards better and more precautionary conservation and management of marine resources (Ludwig et al 1993; Dayton 1998). These conservation strategies are designed through ecological models (Gering et al 2003) based on which species occur within a particular area and on what factors control their distribution (Friedlander et al 2003).

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Conclusion