Pink Porites

Bob Buddemeier bob_buddemeier at msmail.kgs.ukans.edu
Sat Apr 6 23:42:02 EST 1996


Contrary to the suggestions of some, I am not some sort of marine easter 
bunny hopping from atoll to atoll with a basket of dyed Porites (I'll get you 
for that, Ken). 
However -- like Potts, I have very occasionally seen pinkish bands in 
sectioned corals (I think non-Porites as well), but seldom uniform, bright or 
common -- and usually other colors:  see section on boring algae in 
Buddemeier, Maragos & Knutson (1974). Radiographic Studies of Reef Coral 
Exoskeletons, J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 14:179-200. 
If the lines faithfully (as opposed to just approximately) track the density 
growth patterns, if they are bright and uniform, and especially if they trace 
out pretty much the whole living surface at time of deposition, then I would 
check with any other scientists working at the atoll and/or the JA marine ops 
people to see who might have been dying or dumping material in the lagoon 1-2 
years before these corals were collected -- biogenic pigment bands just 
aren't that consistent. 

Bob Buddemeier  
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From: acohen at cliff.whoi.edu on Fri, Apr 5, 1996 12:42 PM 
Subject: Pink Porites 
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          Dear All 
          I am making various geochemical measurements on Porites 
          colonies from Johnston Atoll, NC Pacific. On sectioning 
          several colonies from one of my lagoonal sites, I noticed a 
          bright pink line, the contours of which follow the growth 
          bands. In all colonies, it is situated about 1.5 cm from the 
          surface, below the green endolithic algae. I have never seen 
          this before and it seems restricted to one particular 
          site on Johnston Atoll.  Neither samples from the reef edge 
          nor any other lagoonal localities nor any other genera I've 
          sectioned show this. Could it be a red algae ? Does anybody 
          have any suggestions ? 
          much appreciated Anne 
          (acohen at whoi.edu) 




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