The effect of two common reef organisms on the growth of the common reef coral Acropora formosa
| Autor: | Sithara S. Atapattu |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2009 |
| Předmět: |
Staghorn coral
education.field_of_study Ecology biology Coral Fringing reef Population Aquatic Science Oceanography biology.organism_classification Coral reef organizations population characteristics Aquaculture of coral education geographic locations Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Halimeda Acropora formosa |
| Zdroj: | Marine Biodiversity Records. 2 |
| ISSN: | 1755-2672 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/s1755267209000840 |
| Popis: | Halimeda opuntia and Diplosoma virens are common marine organisms in the Indo-Pacific. Halimeda grows to dense populations, and the ability of didemnids to overgrow coral has been well documented. In the light of their abundance in the Hikkaduwa Nature Park in Sri Lanka, this study investigated the effect of these two associates on the growth and survival of the commonly occurring staghorn coral, Acropora formosa . The results showed that both affected the growth rates of the host coral colonies significantly ( P = 0.11 at 0.15 error level). The two associates also displayed a strong negative correlation between the spreading rate and the host growth rate (−0.71 for H. opuntia and −0.55 for D. virens ). The results show that D. virens could have serious implications on coral survival with a population bloom. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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