Growth variation of Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1794) (Gorgonacea, Anthozoa)

Abstract

Gorgonian colonies of Eunicella singularis were collected randomly from Arethoussa and Phidonissi at Kavala bay (North Aegean Sea, Greece) using SCUBA diving. The following biometric macro features were measured after stabilisation of colony dry weight (DW): maximum height, maximum width, total branch length and rectangular surface area. The allometric or isometric relationships were examined using the equation: log(Y) = log(b)+a*log(X) or Y=b*Xa (Y: Dry Weight and X: the four macro-features) The investigation of the relationships between the dry weight and the other four macro-features demonstrates the presence of two groups of parameters. The first group, which includes the height and the rectangular surface area, exhibits a variation of growth depending on the sampling sites. The second one includes the width and the total branch length and does not exhibit significant variations depending on the hydrodynamical characteristics of the site. These results indicate that the most appropriate parameters for estimating the growth of the Eunicella singularis gorgonian colonies during a population dynamic survey were width and total branch length.