. Cold-water Coral Reefs: out of sight - no longer out of mind. UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 22. Cold-water coral reefs those offshore. Along the continental margin, the genetic differentiation can be regarded as moderate, suggesting sporadic, but not continuous, gene flow through larval dispersal over long periods of time. Significant degrees of inbreeding were detected at several sites indicating substantial proportions of self-recruitment within these subpopulations. For instance, the Darwin Mounds subpopulation at 950 m depth in the northern Rockall Trough revealed a high proportion of cl
. Cold-water Coral Reefs: out of sight - no longer out of mind. UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 22. Cold-water coral reefs those offshore. Along the continental margin, the genetic differentiation can be regarded as moderate, suggesting sporadic, but not continuous, gene flow through larval dispersal over long periods of time. Significant degrees of inbreeding were detected at several sites indicating substantial proportions of self-recruitment within these subpopulations. For instance, the Darwin Mounds subpopulation at 950 m depth in the northern Rockall Trough revealed a high proportion of clones and low gene diversity. This observation supports histological data by Waller and Tyler (in press) who could not detect any reproductive coral in this area. The Darwin Mounds area (Figure 19) has been intensely trawled and damage to corals has been documented. Further trawling will have a severe effect on the survival of this subpopulation. Fortunately, the Darwin Mounds area has recently been protected under a European Fisheries Regulation that prohibits the use of bottom trawl and will also become a special area of conservation under the European Habitats Directive 192/43/EEC). A comparative molecular genetic study hzs been performed on the common precious coral CoralUum lauuense in the Hawaiian Archipelago, Pacific Ocean (Baco and Shank, in press). Genetic structure from widely distributed populations within and among eight Hawaiian seamounts was analysed. Little population differentiation was found between seamount and island populations but significant levels of inbreeding were detected, suggesting that C. lauuense populations are primarily self-recruiting. PREDATION AND PARASITISM OF CORALS Mass occurrences of predatory species that graze upon the tissue and skeleton of corals play a vital role in ecosystem functioning. In shallow-water ecosystems such events include outbreaks of the crown-of-thorn starfish [Acanthaster planci] in the Australian Great Barrier Reef Iv
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