Effects of a mucilage event on the Mediterranean gorgonian Paramuricea clavata. II - Population recovery after two years.

A population of the Mediterranean gorgonian Paramuricea clavata was heavily damaged by a mucilage coverage of colonies at the end of summer 1993, and suffered relatively high mortality. Gorgonian population structure before (summer 1992) and two years after (summer 1995) the mucilage event was compared in order to assess the recovery of the population. Despite gorgonian mean density being practically identical on both dates, suggesting that the local population had fully recoveres its effectives, the demographic structure of the P. clavata population showed changes from one sampling date to the other. The most striking effect of disturbance due to mucilage was the rejuvenation of the population: in 1995, juveniles constituted 26.1% of the population, while in 1992 they were only 4.2%