Inquiry

Joshua Feingold joshua at nova.edu
Tue Mar 19 04:32:36 EST 2002


Shakil,

I have had good success with the "wax method" to determine the surface
area=
=20
of complex shapes like the branches of Pocillopora.

The basic method is to dry the coral to a constant weight, then dip it
in=20
melted paraffin (paraplast), let the wax harden and then weigh the
coral=20
and wax again. The surface area will be proportional to the increase
in=20
weight. I used this technique on Psammocora and in standardization
trials=20
found that wax weight was significantly correlated to coral surface area
(p=
=20
<< 0.001, r =3D 0.996).

This method was originally described and used on Pocillopora in Glynn
&=20
D'Croz (1990) Experimental evidence for high temperature stress as
the=20
cause of the El Ni=F1o-coincident coral mortality. Coral Reefs,
8:181-191.

Cheers,

Joshua Feingold
Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center
Dania Beach, Florida, USA

At 09:49 AM 03/16/2002 +0300, you wrote:
>Dear coral listers,
>
>Does anyone know of an accurate and reliable method for estimating the=20
>areal density of zooxanthellae in Pocillopora damicornis besides the use=20
>of tin-foil paper, which I find neither acurate nor practical for this=20
>species due to the thin and intricate branching nature of the skeleton.
>
>many thanks,
>
>Shakil Visram
>
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