DISCOVERED PRISTINE POPULATION OF ENDANGERED PRECIOUS RED CORALThe precious Mediterranean red coral 

DISCOVERED PRISTINE POPULATION OF ENDANGERED PRECIOUS RED CORALThe precious Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum) has been intensively exploited since antiquity for its use in jewellery. It shows dramatic signs of overexploitation, with no untouched populations known in shallow waters. Fortunately, researchers report the discovery of an exceptional red coral population from a previously unexplored shallow underwater cave in Corsica, France, harbouring the largest biomass (by more than 100 times) reported to date in the Mediterranean. BIG YAYYThis big report  suggest that before intense exploitation, red coral lived in relatively high density populations, even at very shallow depths.pictures speaks itself:- Different states of shallow red coral populations (20×20 cm quadrat): new population discovered in 1. A typical population from a marine protected area consisting of a low density of large colonies in 2 (6.7 cm in height). A standard population from an unprotected area (Provence, France) consisting of a relatively high density of small colonies (2.3 cm in height) in third picture. Before intense exploitation, red coral lived in relatively high-density populations with a large proportion of centuries-old colonies, even at very shallow depths. Researchers call for the re-evaluation of the baseline for red coral and question the sustainability of the exploitation of a species that is still common but ecologically (functionally) extinct and in a trajectory of further decline. Photo: Overview of the precious Mediterranean red coral population discovered in the Scandola Marine Reserve (Parc Naturel Régional de Corse, France);Referecen (Open Access) Garrabou et al., 2017. Re-shifting the ecological baseline for the overexploited Mediterranean red coral. Scientific Reports -- source link
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