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Mediterranean Cold-Water Corals: Past, Present and Future pp 285–289Cite as

27 Submarine Canyons in the Mediterranean: A Shelter for Cold-Water Corals

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Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 9))

Abstract

In the Mediterranean Sea, many of the locations where cold-water coral communities have been reported and documented tend to be associated to submarine canyon environments. This contribution provides a summary of the Mediterranean canyons where, up to date, cold-water corals develop, describing the most common species, their water depth distribution and degree of preservation, and the prevalent hydrodynamic forcing at specific sites. Considering that the inventory, characterisation and detailed mapping of Mediterranean submarine canyons is far from complete, this compilation urges to focus new research and exploration efforts on these morphological features, as they appear to act as natural shelters of cold-water coral communities at present times.

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Acknowledgements

Multibeam bathymetric data shown in Fig. 27.1a was kindly provided by the Spanish Fishery General Secretary (shelf) and Fugro Survey Ltd. and AOA Geophysics Inc. (canyon). We thank Ruth Durán for her help with the bathymetric data integration and the mapping representation. This contribution benefited from the remarks and comments made by the Editor, Covadonga Orejas, and the reviewers Marie Claire Fabri and Andrea Gori to whom we are also grateful.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain

    Pere Puig & Josep-Maria Gili

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  1. Pere Puig
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  2. Josep-Maria Gili
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Correspondence to Pere Puig .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Covadonga Orejas

  2. Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre (ENALIA), Nicosia, Cyprus

    Carlos Jiménez

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Puig, P., Gili, JM. (2019). 27 Submarine Canyons in the Mediterranean: A Shelter for Cold-Water Corals. 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_27

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