Hopes for the future of the pink seafan, a gorgonian familiar to divers in south-west England and south Wales, have been boosted by the news that it has been bred in Britain for the first time.
The feat was achieved in a Project Coral laboratory aquarium at the Horniman Museum & Gardens in south London, where the native temperate coral species Eunicella verrucosa is said to be multiplying well.
Pink seafans – which can also appear as white or orange – are found in coastal waters from western Ireland and south-west Britain to the shores of West Africa and the Mediterranean, but are considered under threat in the UK and IUCN Red Listed as Vulnerable worldwide.
They inhabit waters between 10 and 50m deep up to north Pembrokeshire and as far east as Portland Bill, and are common in parts of south Devon and Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and Lundy. They are also present on the south and west coasts of Ireland, though common only in Galway and Donegal Bays.
Scuba divers from the University of Exeter collected corals for the spawning project from a wreck off Teignmouth in south Devon, as part of PhD student Kaila Wheatley Kornblum’s research into Eunicella verrucosa reproduction.
“It’s absolutely incredible to witness the eggs being expelled and the larvae swimming around,” said Kornblum. “This is a ground-breaking achievement and offers us a long-awaited opportunity to expand our knowledge on temperate coral reproduction, especially larval development and settlement, key areas highlighted by our group’s previous work but unobserved until now.
“This is a big step in our understanding of the species and conservation of the pink seafan.”
Eunicella verrucosa colonies branch profusely and grow to 25-50cm high at right angles to the prevailing currents. The growth is however at the relaxed rate of 1cm a year.
In the UK the corals are protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and, as a “Feature of Conservation Importance”, can have Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) designated for them.
Supervising Kornblum’s PhD are Exeter professor Jamie Stevens and Dr Jamie Craggs, principal aquarium curator at the Horniman and Project Coral lead scientist. “This marks the first time this species has been spawned and reared in the UK and is a major step forward in conserving the species,” said Craggs. “It’s wonderful to see the larvae now starting to settle and grow into juvenile seafans.”
Pink seafans are reported to have been successfully bred in Portugal by Lisbon Oceanarium last year.
Also on Divernet: CORAL CRASH: CAN OUR REEFS BE SAVED?, CORAL FARMERS RESHAPING THE FUTURE, SCIENTISTS DISCOVER HEAT-TOLERANT CORALS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT, WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR CORAL TO SURVIVE?, CORAL DNA REVEALS WHO’S THE DADDY
