Sea whip coral Leptogorgia virgulata in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Colony complexity, age, and growth

Sea whip coral Leptogorgia virgulata are a common structural component of both natural and artificial hard-bottom reef habitats in the mid-Atlantic region and may serve as essential habitat for commercially valuable species. However, they are slow-growing, easily damaged, and especially vulnerable to damage by passive fishing gear such as pots and traps. Despite their potential importance, until recently, sea whips have been generally understudied in this region. We examined the colony complexity, length, age, and growth of sea whips from four artificial reef sites in the mid-Atlantic region to gain a better understanding of their biology in the area. There were no significant differences in the bifurcation (R_b) and tributary to source (T/S) ratios between sites, with the R_b ≈3 for all sites, indicating similar complexity between sites. The total length distribution was 8.3 cm to 85.3 cm, and 50% of corals in the range of 34.2-56.4 cm. Age, estimated from annual growth ring counts, ranged from 2 to 15 y, with 50% of corals in the range of 6 to 8 y. The large proportion of middle-sized and middle-aged corals suggests episodic recruitment. Age-length keys showed the trend of age increasing with total coral length, and a von Bertalanffy growth model demonstrated size-dependent growth following the equation: E[L-t] (cm) = 86.1(1-e^{-0.14(t-1.44)}). This is the first study providing such data for sea whips in the coastal mid-Atlantic region, and the baseline created will be a useful reference to study changes over time.