Lophelia pertusa
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217256303
2008-06-05T07:08:04Z
Steveprutz
1838690
/* Notes */ added ext links
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Lophelia pertusa''
| status = VU
| image = Lophelia_spec.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Cnidaria]]
| classis = [[Coral|Anthozoa]]
| ordo = [[Scleractinia]]
| familia = [[Carophylliidae]]
| genus = ''[[Lophelia]]''
| species = '''''L. pertusa'''''
| binomial = ''Lophelia pertusa''
| binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758)
| synonyms = ''Dendrosmilia nomlandi''<br/>''Lophelia californica''<br/>''Lophelia prolifera''<br/>''Lophelia subcostata''<br/>''Lophohelia affinis''<br/>''Lophohelia tubulosa''<br/>''Madrepora pertusa''<br/>''Madrepora prolifera''
}}
'''''Lophelia pertusa''''' is a species of cold-water [[coral]] which grows in the deep waters throughout the [[North Atlantic]] ocean. ''L. pertusa'' reefs are home to a [[biodiversity|diverse community]], however the species is extremely slow growing and may be harmed by destructive [[fishing]] practices, or oil exploration and extraction.
==Biology==
''Lophelia pertusa'' is a reef building, deep water coral, which is unusual for its lack of [[zooxanthella]]e - the [[symbiotic]] algae which lives inside most tropical reef building corals. ''Lophelia'' lives between 80 m to over 3000 m depth, but most commonly between 200 m to 1000 m depth, where there is [[aphotic zone|no sunlight]], and a temperature range from about 12 °C to 4 °C.
As a coral, it represents a [[Colony (biology)|colonial organism]], which consists of many individuals. New [[polyps]] live and build upon the [[calcium carbonate]] skeletal remains of previous generations. Living coral ranges in colour from white to orange-red. Unlike most tropical corals, the polyps are not interconnected by living tissue.
Radiocarbon dating indicates that some ''Lophelia'' reefs in the waters off [[North Carolina]] may be 40,000 years old, with individual living coral bushes as much as 1,000 yrs old.
[[Image:Lophelia1.jpg|thumb|250px|left| A bed of ''Lophelia pertusa'' photographed from a [[ROV]].]]The coral [[reproduce]]s by [[bud]]ding off new polyps and by producing free-living planktonic larvae which float in the water until they find a suitable surface to attach to and grow on.
''Lophelia'' reefs can grow to 35 m high, be hundreds of metres wide, and the largest recorded reef measures 13 km, off the [[Lofoten Islands]], [[Norway]]. When this is seen in terms of a growth rate of around 1 mm per year, the great age of these reefs becomes apparent.
Polyps at the end of branches feed by extending their [[tentacle]]s and straining plankton from the seawater. The spring bloom of [[phytoplankton]] and subsequent [[zooplankton]] blooms, provide the main source of nutrient input to the deep sea. This rain of dead plankton is visible on photographs of the seabed and stimulates a seasonal cycle of growth and reproduction in ''Lophelia''. This cycle is recorded in patterns of growth, and can be studied to investigate [[climate change|climatic variation]] in the recent past.
==Conservation status==
''L. pertusa'' was listed under [[CITES]] Appendix II in January 1990, meaning that the [[UNEP|United Nations Environmental Programme]] recognizes that this species is not necessarily currently threatened with [[extinct]]ion but that it may become so in the future. CITES is technically a means of restricting international trade in endangered species, which is not a major threat to the survival of ''L. pertusa''. The [[Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic|OSPAR Commission]] for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic have recognised ''Lophelia pertusa'' reefs as a threatened habitat in need of protection.
Main threats come from destruction of reefs by heavy deep-sea [[trawl]] nets, targeting [[redfish]] or [[grenadier (fish)|grenadiers]]. The heavy metal "doors" which hold the mouth of the net open, and the "footline", which is equipped with large metal "rollers", are dragged along the sea bed, and have a highly damaging effect on the coral. Because the rate of growth is so slow, it is unlikely that that this practice will prove to be [[sustainable]].
[[Image:Lophelia4.jpg|thumb|left|250px| A brachyuran [[crab]] living on a ''Lophelia'' reef]]
In recent years, environmental organisations such as [[Greenpeace]] have argued that exploration for [[oil]] on the north west [[continental shelf]] slopes of Europe should be curtailed due to the possibility that is it damaging to the ''Lophelia'' reefs - conversely, ''Lophelia'' has recently been observed growing on the legs of oil installations.<ref>P. Whomersley and G.B. Picken (2003). Long-term dynamics of fouling communities found on offshore installations in the North Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 83: 897-901.</ref>
==Ecological significance==
[[Image:Lophelia3.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A conger eel which has set up home in a ''Lophelia'' bed]]
''Lophelia'' beds create a specialised habitat favoured by some species of deep water fishes. Surveys have recorded [[conger eel]]s, [[shark]]s, [[grouper]]s and [[hake]]. The invertebrate community consists of [[brittle star]]s, [[mollusc]]s, [[amphipods]] and [[crab]]s. High densities of smaller fish such as [[hatchetfish]] and [[lanternfish]] have been recorded in the waters over ''Lophelia'' beds, indicating they may be important prey items for the larger fish below.
==Range==
''L. pertusa'' has been reported from [[Anguilla]], [[Bahamas]], [[Bermuda]], [[Brazil]], [[Canada]], [[Cape Verde]], [[Colombia]], [[Cuba]], [[Ecuador]], [[France]], [[French Southern Territories]], [[Greece]], [[Grenada]], [[Iceland]], [[India]], [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], [[Jamaica]], [[Japan]], [[Madagascar]], [[Mexico]], [[Montserrat]], [[Norway]], [[Portugal]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Saint Helena]], [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]], [[Senegal]], [[South Africa]], [[United Kingdom]], [[United States of America]], [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] and [[Wallis and Futuna Islands]].<ref>As reported by [[CITES]] and the [[UNEP]], and as such, is incomplete, and affected by development of marine science in that country, and effort put into surveying for it.</ref>
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{wikispecies|Desmophyllinae}}
*[http://www.eol.org/taxa/17066897 Lophelia - Encyclopedia of Life]
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