Biology
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Little is known of the biology of this coral. Limited monitoring of populations at Lundy and the Isles of Scilly suggests that settlement of new corals does not occur every year. This is possibly determined by long-term cycles in factors such as water temperature; settlement only occurring in warmer years (4).
Conservation
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The sunset cup coral has been targeted as a priority species by UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The Species Action Plan that results from this process aims to improve current understanding of the life history, range and numbers of the species and to maintain the extent and numbers of all populations discovered by 2004 (1).
Description
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The slow-growing and long-lived sunset cup coral has a porous skeleton (1) about the size of a thimble (2). The polyps are similar in appearance to sea anemones and are bright yellow in colour, reaching up to three centimetres in diameter (2).
Habitat
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This species preferentially inhabits shaded areas of bedrock, for example in caves and gullies or under overhangs (1), and usually occurs below the depth of kelp forests (2).
Range
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Recorded in the north-east Atlantic in the Channel Isles, Brittany and Portugal, it is also found in the Mediterranean. It was first recorded in Britain in 1969 from the island of Lundy, and is now known to occur in a few isolated sites in the south-west of England (1).
Status
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The sunset cup coral is not listed under any Directives or Conventions and is not protected by UK legislation. It is a UK BAP priority species (1).
Threats
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In U.K. waters the sunset cup coral reaches the northern limit of its range. This means it probably exists here at the limit of the environmental extremes it can tolerate. Consequently, it may be particularly susceptible to relatively small changes in its environment. For example, slight drops in water temperature may prevent successful reproduction. Populations at Lundy may fail to successfully recruit new corals as Lundy is a small island swept by strong currents. Thus larvae may be carried away before they are able to settle on suitable rock.
Leptopsammia pruvoti
provided by wikipedia EN
Leptopsammia pruvoti, the sunset cup coral, is a solitary stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae. It is an azooxanthellate species, meaning its tissues do not contain the symbiotic unicellular algae (zooxanthellae) of the genus Symbiodinium, as do most corals.[1] It is native to the Mediterranean Sea. The species was described by Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers in 1897 and named to honor the French marine biologist Georges Pruvot.
Description
Leptosammia pruvoti partially retracted
Leptopsammia pruvoti is a solitary stony coral and superficially resembles a sea anemone. The polyp sits in a calcareous cup, wider at the base than the top, which varies in shape from cylindrical and short to conical and long. It grows to a height of about 60 mm (2.4 in) and a diameter of 20 mm (0.8 in). The polyp is yellow or orange with about ninety-six long, translucent yellow tentacles. It can retract back into the skeletal cup, so that the tentacles become barely visible.[2][3] This species can be confused with another yellow or orange cup coral, Balanophyllia regia, but that species never grows so large and has fewer tentacles.[4]
Distribution and habitat
Leptopsammia pruvoti is found in the western Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic and on the Atlantic coasts of Portugal, Brittany, the Channel Islands and southwestern England. Independent of sunlight, it is found under boulders, on bedrock, in crevices, under overhangs and in caves at depths between 10 and 40 metres (33 and 131 ft).[2][5]
In a sea cave in Italy it was noticed that the colonial coral Astroides calycularis was plentiful in well-lit locations but became less numerous in the darker parts of the cave while L. pruvoti became more abundant in dark positions. However, in locations where sulphur-laden spring water mixed with the sea water, this situation was reversed and Astroides calycularis was more common. The relative proportions of the two species may have been affected by the existence of mats of sulphur-digesting bacteria around the spring.[6]
Ecology
A barnacle, Megatrema anglicum, is often found living parasitically inside Leptopsammia pruvoti.[7]
The breeding strategy of L. pruvoti involves high fecundity, a short incubation time for the embryos, small planula larvae and rapid maturation. The generation time is about 2.3 years and maximum longevity 13 years.[8]
References
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^ a b c Hoeksema, Bert (2014). "Leptopsammia pruvoti Lacaze-Duthiers, 1897". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
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^ a b Picton, B.E.; Morrow, C.C (2010). "Leptopsammia pruvoti Lacaze-Duthiers, 1897". Sea anemones and hydroids. Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
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^ Jackson, Angus (2008). "Sunset cup coral - Leptopsammia pruvoti - General information". MarLIN. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
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^ Picton, B.E.; Morrow, C.C (2010). "Balanophyllia regia Gosse, 1853". Sea anemones and hydroids. Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
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^ Jackson, Angus (2008). "Sunset cup coral - Leptopsammia pruvoti - Habitat preferences and distribution". MarLIN. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
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^ Aldemaro Romero Díaz (2009). Cave Biology: Life in Darkness. Cambridge University Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-521-82846-8.
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^ R. N. Gibson; R. J. A. Atkinson; J. D. M. Gordon (2006). Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. CRC Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-4200-0639-1.
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^ Issues in Global Environment: Freshwater and Marine Environments: 2011 Edition. ScholarlyEditions. 2012. p. 604. ISBN 978-1-4649-6467-1.
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Leptopsammia pruvoti: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
Leptopsammia pruvoti, the sunset cup coral, is a solitary stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae. It is an azooxanthellate species, meaning its tissues do not contain the symbiotic unicellular algae (zooxanthellae) of the genus Symbiodinium, as do most corals. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea. The species was described by Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers in 1897 and named to honor the French marine biologist Georges Pruvot.
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Biology
provided by World Register of Marine Species
azooxanthellate
van der Land, J. (ed). (2008). UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms (URMO).
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Depth range
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3-150 m
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Habitat
provided by World Register of Marine Species
shelf
van der Land, J. (ed). (2008). UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms (URMO).
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