Abstract
The two scleractinian cold-water corals Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata are widely distributed in the Alborán Sea. They have been found (alive and fossil) on seamounts, volcanic ridges and mud volcanoes, and they formed coral mounds in the geological past. While the cold-water corals show a reduced occurrence during the last glacial period, they experienced a boom since the last deglaciation until the Early Holocene. The proliferation of cold-water corals during this time is expressed in very high vertical mound aggradation rates of >400 cm kyr−1. Since the mid-Holocene coral mound aggradation significantly slowed-down, which is ascribed to the reduced occurrence of cold-water corals likely supplemented by a reduced sediment supply. During the Holocene, a shift in coral species dominance towards a M. oculata-dominated cold-water coral community becomes apparent. It is speculated that in comparison to L. pertusa, M. oculata has a higher tolerance against the increasing Holocene bottom water temperatures, but is not efficient in building-up mounds likely attributed to its thinly branching framework.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Cacho I, Grimalt JO, Canals M (2002) Response of the western Mediterranean Sea to rapid climatic variability during the last 50,000 years: a molecular biomarker approach. J Mar Syst 33–34:253–272
Dubois-Dauphin Q, Bonneau L, Colin C, et al (2016) South Atlantic intermediate water advances into the north-East Atlantic with reduced Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the last glacial period. Geochem Geophys Geosyst 17:2336–2353
Fink HG, Wienberg C, De Pol-Holz R, et al (2015) Spatio-temporal distribution patterns of Mediterranean cold-water corals (Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata) during the past 14,000 years. Deep-Sea Res Part 1 Oceanogr Res Pap 103:37–48
Fink HG, Wienberg C, De Pol-Holz R, et al (2013) Cold-water coral growth in the Alboran Sea related to high productivity during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Mar Geol 339:71–82
Hebbeln D, Wienberg C, Cruise Participants (2015) Report and preliminary results of R/V MARIA S. MERIAN Cruise MSM36 “MoccoMeBo”. Malaga-Las Palmas, 18.02.-17.03.2014. MERIAN-Reports, 47 pp, DFG-Senatskommission für Ozeanographie. https://doi.org/10.2312/cr_msm36
Krengel T, Frank N, Hemsing F, et al (2015) Growth of cold-water corals in the Gulf of Cádiz and the Alboran Sea from two cores obtained through drilling (MSM36-MoccoMeBo). In: Abstracts of the 1st international carbonate mound conference, Monte Veritá, 1–5 November 2015
Lo Iacono C, Gràcia E, Diez S, et al (2008) Seafloor characterization and backscatter variability of the Almería Margin (Alboran Sea, SW Mediterranean) based on high-resolution acoustic data. Mar Geol 250:1–18
Lo Iacono C, Gràcia E, Ranero CR, et al (2014) The West Melilla cold water coral mounds, eastern Alboran Sea: morphological characterization and environmental context. Deep-Sea Res Part 2 Top Stud Oceanogr 99:316–326
Lo Iacono C, Huvenne VAI, Gonzalez LV, et al (2016) Living reefs and CWC mounds in the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean). Holocene evolution and present-day conditions. In: Abstracts of the 6th international symposium on deep-sea corals, Boston, 11–16 September 2016
Margreth S, Gennari G, Rüggeberg A, et al (2011) Growth and demise of cold-water coral ecosystems on mud volcanoes in the west Alboran Sea: the messages from the planktonic and benthic foraminifera. Mar Geol 282:26–39
Muñoz A, Ballesteros M, Montoya I, et al (2008) Alborán Basin, southern Spain. Part I: Geomorphology. Mar Petrol Geol 25:59–73
Naumann MS, Orejas C, Ferrier-Pagès C (2014) Species-specific physiological response by the cold-water corals Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata to variations within their natural temperature range. Deep-Sea Res Part 2 Top Stud Oceanogr 99:36–41
Palomino D, Alonso B, Lo Iacono C, et al (2015) Seamounts and Seamount-like structures of the Alborán Sea. In: Würtz M, Rovere M (eds) Atlas of the Mediterranean seamounts and seamount-like structures. IUCN, Gland, Málaga, pp 21–58
Palomino D, Vázquez J-T, Ercilla G, et al (2011) Interaction between seabed morphology and water masses around the seamounts on the Motril marginal plateau (Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean). Geo-Mar Lett 31:465–479
Stalder C, Vertino A, Rosso A, et al (2015) Microfossils, a key to unravel cold-water carbonate mound evolution through time: evidence from the eastern Alboran Sea. PLoS One 10:e0140223
Titschack J, Fink HG, Baum D, et al (2016) Mediterranean cold-water corals – an important regional carbonate factory? Depos Rec 2:74–96
Wang H, Wienberg C, Titschack J, et al (2016) Past cold-water coral growth in the West Melilla cold-water Coral Province, Alboran Sea, related to high food availability. Rapp Comm Int Mer Médit 41:58
Wienberg C, Titschack J (2017) Framework-forming scleractinian cold-water corals through space and time: a late Quaternary North Atlantic perspective. In: Rossi S, Bramanti L, Gori A, et al (eds) Marine animal forests: the ecology of benthic biodiversity hotspots. Springer, Cham, pp 699–732. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17001-5_16-1
Cross References
Angeletti L, Bettuzzi M, Morigi MP (this volume) Tomography of cold-water corals – bearing cores
Chimienti G, Bo M, Taviani M, et al (this volume) Occurrence and biogeography of Mediterranean cold-water corals
Hebbeln D (this volume) Highly variable submarine landscapes in the Alborán Sea created by cold-water corals
Lo Iacono C, Savini A, Huvenne VAI, et al (this volume) Habitat mapping of cold-water corals in the Mediterranean Sea
Palomino D, Rueda JL, Vázquez JT, et al (this volume) Cold-water corals in fluid venting submarine structures
Rueda J, Urra J, Aguilar R, et al (this volume) Cold-water coral associated fauna in the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent areas
Vertino A, Taviani M, Corselli C (this volume) Spatio-temporal distribution of Mediterranean Cold-water corals
Acknowledgements
This study contributes to the project of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) “MoccAMeBo” (grant HE 3412/18). Jürgen Titschack is acknowledged for compiling the map of the Alborán Sea. Claudio Lo Iacono and Paolo Montagna are thanked for their very helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. And finally, all colleagues contributing to the steadily increasing number of coral ages are thanked for their tremendous efforts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wienberg, C. (2019). 7 A Deglacial Cold-Water Coral Boom in the Alborán Sea: From Coral Mounds and Species Dominance. In: Orejas, C., Jiménez, C. (eds) Mediterranean Cold-Water Corals: Past, Present and Future. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91608-8_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91608-8_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91607-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-91608-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)