Biomass, carbonate standing stock and production of the Mediterranean coral Cladocora caespitosa (L.)

The Mediterranean coral Cladocora caespitosa often occurs in large beds, i. e. populations of hemispherical colonies with stock densities varying betwe en 1.9 and 4 colonies (.) m(-2). Laboratory measurements of volume, skeleto n weight, surface and number of corallites per colony, coupled with mean an nual growth rates evaluated through sclerochronology, allowed for the estim ation of biomass, skeleton bulk density, calcimass (carbonate standing stoc k) and secondary production (both organic and inorganic) of two C. caespito sa beds at 4 and 9 m depth. The mean colony biomass varied between 0.73 and 0.99 kg dw (.) m(-2), corresponding to a calcimass between 2 and 5 kg CaCO 3.m(-2). Organic secondary production was 215.5 - 305.4 g dw of polyps (.) m(-2) (.) y(-1), while the potential (mineral) production was 1.1 - 1.7 kg CaCO3.m(-2.)y(-1), for the year 1996-1997. These values show that C. caespitosa is one of the major carbonate producer s within the Mediterranean and one of the major epibenthic species originat ing stable carbonate frameworks both in recent and past times.