Biological Responses of the Coral Montastraea annularis to the Removal of Filamentous Turf Algae
| Autor: | Héctor A. Hernández-Arana, Julio Espinoza-Avalos, Neidy P. Cetz-Navarro, Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: |
Time Factors
Algae Sea Urchin Coral lcsh:Medicine Montastraea annularis Marine and Aquatic Sciences Marine Biology Plant Science Cyanobacteria Gametogenesis Marine Conservation Model Organisms Stress Physiological Anthozoa Botany Animals lcsh:Science Biology Ecosystem geography Multidisciplinary geography.geographical_feature_category biology Ecology Coral Reefs lcsh:R Marine Ecology Coralline algae Coral reef Animal Models Plants biology.organism_classification Marine Environments Species Interactions Community Ecology Caribbean Region Zooxanthellae Corals Earth Sciences Phycology lcsh:Q Crustose Research Article Ecological Environments |
| Zdroj: | PLoS ONE PLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 1, p e54810 (2013) |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| Popis: | Coral reef degradation increases coral interactions with filamentous turf algae (FTA) and macroalgae, which may result in chronic stress for the corals. We evaluated the effects of short (2.5 month) and long (10 month) periods of FTA removal on tissue thickness (TT), zooxanthellae density (ZD), mitotic index (MI), and concentration of chlorophyll a (Chl a) in Montastraea annularis at the beginning and end of gametogenesis. Ramets (individual lobes within a colony) consistently surrounded by FTA and ramets surrounded by crustose coralline algae (CCA) were used as controls. FTA removal reduced coral stress, indicated by increased TT and ZD and lower MI. The measured effects were similar in magnitude for the short and long periods of algal removal. Ramets were more stressed at the end of gametogenesis compared with the beginning, with lower ZD and Chl a cm(-2), and higher MI. However, it was not possible to distinguish the stress caused by the presence of FTA from that caused by seasonal changes in seawater temperature. Ramets surrounded by CCA showed less stress in comparison with ramets surrounded by FTA: with higher TT, Chl a cm(-2) and ZD, and lower MI values. Coral responses indicated that ramets with FTA suffered the most deleterious effects and contrasted with those measured in ramets surrounded by CCA. According to published studies and our observations, there could be at least six mechanisms associated to FTA in the stress caused to M. annularis by FTA. Owing to the high cover of FTA (in contrast to macroalgae and CCA) in the Caribbean, the chronic stress, the overgrowth and mortality that this functional algal group can cause on M. annularis species complex, a further decline of this important reef-building coral in the Caribbean is expected. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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