@article {458,
	title = {Tissue necrosis and mortality of the temperate coral Cladocora caespitosa},
	journal = { Italian Journal of Zoology},
	volume = {72},
	year = {2005},
	abstract = {<p>Mass-mortality events of the temperate coral Cladocora caespitosa were  recorded in the Gulf of La Spezia (NW Mediterranean) in the summers of  1997, 1998 and 1999. At the end of the summer 1999, 60\% of the colonies  found in 1997 were damaged and more than 50\% of the damaged colonies  were completely dead. Complete death of the largest colonies caused a  modal shift of colony size-frequency distribution towards the smallest  size classes. In order to verify experimentally the hypothesis that  mass-mortality was primarily induced by a seawater temperature increase  of up to 4 \&deg;C for several weeks, as proposed by several Authors, nubbins  of the coral were maintained in aquaria at a temperature of 28 \&deg;C,  i.e., 4 \&deg;C higher than the normal maximum summer value. After three  weeks of treatment, the nubbins showed a mortality pattern similar to  that observed in the field, with the gradual necrosis of tissue to leave  only the bare skeleton. Similarly, nubbins long-term exposed to the  summer temperature of 24 \&deg;C showed signs of stress. In situ tissue  necrosis and loss, first from coenosarcs, then from polyps, started from  different parts of the colonies simultaneously. In addition, C.  caespitosa did not bleach during the thermal stress, which is different  from the heat-induced mass mortality events in tropical corals.</p>},
	keywords = {benthos, biodiversit{\'e}, biodiversity, Cladocora caespitosa, climate change, corail, coral, distribution, injury, Italie, Italy, La Spezia, Ligurian Sea, mass mortality, Mediterranean sea, M{\'e}diterran{\'e}e nord-occidentale, M{\'e}diterrann{\'e}e occidentale, Mer Ligure, Mer M{\'e}diterran{\'e}e, mortalit{\'e} massive, mortality, n{\'e}crose, north-western Mediterranean, r{\'e}chauffement, scleractinian, sea water temperature, temperature, temp{\'e}rature de l{\textquoteright}eau de mer, warming, western Mediterranean},
	author = {R. Rodolfo-Metalpa and C.N. Bianchi and A. Peirano and C. Morri}
}
