Environmental niche, spatial distribution and size structure of shelf-dwelling populations of the gorgonian Eunicella cavolini (Koch, 1887) in NW Mediterranean
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- Institut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
- Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University, 155 Ridge Rd, NL A1C 5R3, St. John's, Canada
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Gijón (IEO, CSIC), Avenida Príncipe de Asturias 70 bis, 33212, Gijón, Spain
- Laboratoire d’Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (LEGOS), CNRS/UPS/CNES/IRD, Avenue Edouard Belin 14, 31400, Toulouse, France
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science2025312: 109042doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.109042
Why it matters for Life Mapper
A study of deep populations of the gorgonian Eunicella cavolini on the continental shelf off Cap de Creus (NW Mediterranean), inside a Natura 2000 site. Combining 60 video transects with environmental data, it finds dense colonies mainly at 95–110 m, on mixed gravel and rock with moderate bottom currents and no recent trawling. A Random Forest model maps about 14 ha of suitable seabed. For Life Mapper it shows how density data from video and a few environmental layers become a predictive habitat map, an approach that can be reused where direct observations are scarce. It also links mapping to management: the drivers it identifies — currents, rocky substrate, absence of trawling and the by-catch of large colonies in trammel nets — point to concrete protection measures in Natura 2000 sites, and its figures give a baseline for monitoring the restoration actions already under way at Cap de Creus.
Editorial note by the Life Mapper team — not part of the original article.
Publication details
- Journal
- Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science · ISSN 0272-7714
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2025
- Volume (issue): pages
- 312: 109042
Cite this paper
Dominguez-Carrió, C., Gori, A., Riera, J. L., Robert, K., Requena, S., Orejas, C., Lo Iacono, C., Estournel, C., & Gili, J. (2025). Environmental niche, spatial distribution and size structure of shelf-dwelling populations of the gorgonian Eunicella cavolini (Koch, 1887) in NW Mediterranean. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 312, 109042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.109042
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Cited by: 2 · via OpenAlex
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2024.109042