Coral

John McManus jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu
Mon Jan 13 16:03:47 EST 2003


Dear Dr. Jeyabaskaran;

There is a very muddy cove in Puerto Galera, Mindoro, Philippines that had
(about 20 years ago) Acropora aspera or a similar species growing in broadly
explanate fashion, apparently to avoid silt buildup. There was an unusally
large mound of Physogyra (2-3 feet high). Other silty coves in the
Philippines tend to have large-polyped Goniopora. Silty portions of Ambon
Bay typically supported large beds of Euphyllia spp. Some foliose corals
grow particularly explanate, narrower than normal "fronds" that seem to trap
less sediment. Usually one finds corals that can rise above floculant silt
or that can expell it with large polyps. However, much depends on whether or
not the conditions lead to accumulation or not. Large mounds of Porites spp
in the Philippines can tolerate considerable silt as long as there is a
current strong enough to carry away the silt-laden mucous sheet they
exude -- otherwise selective death and regrowth amid periodic siltation
leads to a "pile of pancakes" effect.  Several forms of Millepora (large
mounds of fine branching forms) were found in another silty Puerto Galera
cove -- though less silty.  Most areas I've seen near mangroves have silt
running across them periodically, but it does not stay long enough for
long-term burial or submersion in a floculant layer to be a problem. That is
where I have seen Pseudosiderastrea and Oulastrea.

Cheers!

John

John W. McManus, PhD.
Director
National Center for Caribbean Coral Reef Research (NCORE)
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS)
University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, Fl. 33149
Phone: 305-361-4814
Fax:   305-361-4910
Email: jmcmanus at rsmas.miami.edu
Website: www.ncoremiami.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov
[mailto:owner-coral-list at aoml.noaa.gov]On Behalf Of Dr.R. Jayabaskaran
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 8:05 PM
To: coral-list-daily at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: Coral

Dear All,

        Recently I surveyed the coral reefs of Gulf of Kachchh, India.
During my survey I observed that the coral Pseudosiderastrea tayami Yabe
and Sugiyama, 1935 was commonly distributed in shallow areas near
mangroves where the silting rate was very high. I would like to know "
Which coral species in the world has high survival rate in muddy
environment?"

Kind regards,
R. Jeyabaskaran

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. R. Jeyabaskaran
Research Associate
Biological Oceanography Division
National Institute of Oceanography
Dona-Paula
Goa 403 004, India
Phone: 91(0)832 2456700,2456701 Ext No-4252
Fax  : 91(0)832 2456703
e-mail:jaybas at darya.nio.org
       jeybas at hotmail.com
       jeybas1 at rediffmail.com
URL   :www.nio.org
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