Polyp loss and mass occurrence of sea urchins on bamboo corals in the deep sea: an indirect effect of fishing impact?

The ability of corals to detach their polyps (leaving behind a naked skeleton) in times of stress, allows polyps to escape from a local source of hostility (Sammarco 1982). In situ observations of this behavior (referred to as 'polyp bailout') were first documented in tropical reef-building corals. Later it was observed in some cold-water corals of Acanthogorgia (Braga-Henriques 2014), and Acanella arbuscula (Rakka et al. 2019) in aquaria.