@article {388,
	title = {Size distribution, density and disturbance in two Mediterranean gorgonians: Paramuricea clavata and Eunicella singularis},
	journal = { Journal of Applied Ecology},
	year = {2007},
	abstract = {<p>1. Gorgonians are long-lived engineering species and their conservation  is crucial to maintaining the biodiversity of marine communities. The  slow dynamics displayed by these species make them especially vulnerable  when faced with increasing disturbances.2. The sessile nature and  structural role of gorgonians provide several ecological similarities  with trees, allowing the application of different approaches developed  by forest ecology studies toovercome the constraint of long time-scales  to collect valuable dynamic data. Using these approaches, we examined  the distribution and demography of two representative  Mediterraneangorgonian species, Paramuricea clavata and Eunicella  singularis, along a regional spatial scale as well as their response to  disturbances.3. The regular spatial distribution and the upper  distribution limit of E. singularis suggest that this species is more  tolerant to a wide range of environmental conditions than P. clavata ,  which exhibited a more asymmetrical spatial distribution and variation  in the upper distribution limit on the latitudinal scale.4. Size  distributions of both species showed contrasting population dynamics.  The size distribution of E. singularis was characterized by initial  stages of populations (0-10 cm) in contrast to the scarcity of this  stage displayed by P. clavata. This suggests differences in recruitment  between species. Furthermore, only P. clavata populations displayed a  strong negative correlation between density and biomass with a slope  close to -3/2, indicating a self-thinning mechanism and therefore the  existence of a carrying capacity. This result and the trajectories of  disturbed populations below the self-thinning line revealed this  approach as a useful method to identify the effects of biological or  physical disturbance.5. Synthesis and applications. The approaches used  in this study provide insights into management needs in face of the  difficulty of having to deal with the population dynamics of very  slow-growing threatened species. In particular, gorgonian populations  can be used as an indicator of the effects of climatic anomalies on the  coralligenous community.</p>},
	keywords = {benthos, biodiversit{\'e}, biodiversity, climate change, conservation, corallig{\`e}ne, coralligenous community, distribution, distribution d{\textquoteright}esp{\`e}ces, dynamic, dynamique, dynamique des populations, Espagne, Eunicella singularis, forest, gorgonaire, gorgonian, management, mass mortality, Mediterranean sea, M{\'e}diterran{\'e}e nord-occidentale, M{\'e}diterrann{\'e}e occidentale, Mer M{\'e}diterran{\'e}e, mortalit{\'e} massive, north-western Mediterranean, Paramuricea clavata, population dynamic, Spain, species distribution, western Mediterranean},
	author = {C. Linares and R. Coma and J. Garrabou and D. Diaz and M. Zabala}
}
