[Coral-List] Coral-List Digest, Vol 57, Issue 8 / Palythoa invasion in Malagasy
Bernard-Armand THOMASSIN
ba.thomassin at wanadoo.fr
Wed Mar 12 05:24:08 EDT 2008
Dear All,
Following the political and economical desaster in Malagasy in the years
1980-90, people living along the southern littoral of this "Red Big Island"
, without foods, destryoed completely the reef flats to catch fishes (at a
size of 2-3 cm long generally, even the large groupers), crabs, octopus (5
cm) and molluscs.
The "Grand Récif de Tuléar", a so beautiful barrier reef in the years
1960-70 (when we did our thesis - M. PICHON, P. VASSEUR, M. PEYROT-CLAUSADE,
M. HARMELIN6VIVIEN, etc.), was reduced to a detrital rubble field. In same
time, population of the land (cattle breeders mostly) increased the
population of the Tuléar (Toliara in Malagasy) town, that reached more
100,000 inhabitants, that increased the organic particules in the coastal
waters.
Linked to these drastic environmental conditions, a brown Palythoa facies
blew up all along the outer reef flat and the top of the spur-and-groove
system of the outer slope. It was a field of Palythoa, as a brown carpet,
overgrowing all substrates, 150-200 m large, and along all the reef front,
on more 18 km long.
Same facies occured on other reefs in the vicinity.
Today, this Palythoa had reduced in space and a green algal field took its
place, linked to the eutrophisation of these coastal waters.
I have slides for those interested.
This is for a Southern Indian Ocean example !
Bernard A. THOMASSIN (Dr. Sci.)
Directeur de recherches honoraire du CNRS / Centre d'Océanologie de
Marseille
Président du G.I.S. "Lag-May" ("Environnement marin et littoral de l'île de
Mayotte")
&
Attaché scientifique du Musée Barla d'Histoire naturelle de la Ville de Nice
tél. GSM (33) 06 63 14 91 78,
e-mai : ba.thomassin at wanadoo.fr
----- Original Message -----
From: <coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 5:00 PM
Subject: Coral-List Digest, Vol 57, Issue 8
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Palythoa overgrowing corals in Trinidad and elsewhere
> (Dawn Phillip)
> 2. Re: Palythoa bleaching in Trinidad (Thomas Goreau)
> 3. Re: Palythoa bleaching in Trinidad (Dawn Phillip)
> 4. Re: Zoanthid (Paltythoa caribaeorum) overgrowth of corals
> (Szmant, Alina)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:22:40 -0400
> From: "Dawn Phillip" <Dawn.Phillip at sta.uwi.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Palythoa overgrowing corals in Trinidad and
> elsewhere
> To: "Thomas Goreau" <goreau at bestweb.net>
> Cc: Joanna Ibrahim <Joanna.Ibrahim at sta.uwi.edu>, coral-list coral-list
> <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>, Jennie Mallela
> <Jennie.Mallela at sta.uwi.edu>, Jo?o Gama Monteiro <jmonteiro at uac.pt>,
> James Reimer <jreimer at jamstec.go.jp>, Stanton Belford
> <sbelford at martinmethodist.edu>
> Message-ID:
> <AC595DEA0338F5408CAF4311BEF0F70155554D at sauwiexch01.sauwi.uwi.tt>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Dear Tom
>
>
>
> Oh, there are Palythoa colonies closer to shore, especially in Toco Bay.
> I have just begun measuring total suspended volatile solids to try to
> quantify available organic particulates in the overlying water column
> because I suspect that the corals here have to rely on feeding for a
> substantial portion of their carbon requirements.
>
>
>
> We also noticed that there was a lot of bleaching of the Palythoa on the
> reef crest - large patches of about 30 cm in diameter on some; collections
> of smaller (< 1 cm in diameter) of smaller white/bleached spots on others.
> The Palythoa closer inshore appeared to be in better condition.
>
>
>
> Dr Dawn A.T. Phillip
>
> Lecturer
>
> Department of Life Sciences
>
> The University of the West Indies
>
> St Augustine
>
> Trinidad and Tobago
>
> Ph: (868)662-2002 ex. 2208
>
> Mobile: (868)394-3005; (868)464-6932
>
> Fax: (868)663-5241
>
> Email: dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu <mailto:dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu>
>
> Web: http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm
> <http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Thomas Goreau [mailto:goreau at bestweb.net]
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 5:03 PM
> To: Dawn Phillip
> Cc: coral-list coral-list; Jennie Mallela; Lee Ann Beddoe; Stanton
> Belford; Jo?o Gama Monteiro; Dan and Stephanie Clark; James Reimer; Joanna
> Ibrahim
> Subject: Re: Palythoa overgrowing corals in Trinidad and elsewhere
>
>
>
> Dear Dawn,
>
>
>
> Glad to hear you and Stanton were in the field, and looking forward to
> your observations. I think you will remember that we looked at the
> earliest studies of these sites, and Palythoa seems to have expanded
> landward quite a bit. The salinities are near normal, but the turbidity is
> extremely high for coral reefs, and I think that the Zoanthus may be able
> to feed of particulate organic carbon to some degree, which might give
> them an edge. The factors at the cold limits are presumably different,
> those areas are all pretty turbid too, but nothing like Trinidad!
>
>
>
> Best wishes to all,
>
> Tom
>
>
>
> On Mar 10, 2008, at 4:53 PM, Dawn Phillip wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Stanton and I have just come back from a trip to survey the two coral
> systems at Toco. We noticed that Palythoa seemed to be dominant in
> specific bands on the reef, particularly on the reef crest. It is easy to
> discern a Palythoa zone at low tide by looking down at the 'reef' from the
> top of the cliff. Apart from overgrowing hard coral and rocks, we have
> seen Palythoa overgrowing Zoanthus, fire coral and anemones.
>
>
>
> On a side, water salinities in this area are usually between 34 - 35
> p.s.u., which does not support the hypothesis of any significant influence
> by the large South American rivers.
>
>
>
> Dr Dawn A.T. Phillip
>
> Lecturer
>
> Department of Life Sciences
>
> The University of the West Indies
>
> St Augustine
>
> Trinidad and Tobago
>
> Ph: (868)662-2002 ex. 2208
>
> Mobile: (868)394-3005; (868)464-6932
>
> Fax: (868)663-5241
>
> Email: dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu <mailto:dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu>
>
> Web: http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm
> <http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Thomas Goreau [mailto:goreau at bestweb.net]
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 1:46 PM
> To: coral-list coral-list
> Cc: Dawn Phillip; Jennie Mallela; Lee Ann Beddoe; Stanton Belford; Jo?o
> Gama Monteiro; Dan and Stephanie Clark; James Reimer
> Subject: Palythoa overgrowing corals in Trinidad and elsewhere
>
>
>
> Palythoa overgrowth of corals is being studied in Toco and Salybia,
> Trinidad, by a research group at the University of the West Indies at St.
> Augustine including Dawn Philip, Jennnie Mallela, Lee Ann Beddoe, and
> Stanton Belford. Our observations, compared to earlier work by other
> Trinidadian researchers, shows that Palythoa is clearly overgrowing corals
> and expanding over the reef flat.
>
>
>
> We see the same thing happening on a large scale in Broward County
> Florida, where Dan Clark and I just photographed this last week, and where
> large old corals are being overgrown. The same Palythoa dominance is
> common in southern Brazil, for example from Cabo Frio and Arraial do Cabo
> southwestwards. Palythoa mats dominate large areas of the reefs of Cabo
> Verde, and photos sent to me last week by Joao Gama Monteiro show it is
> even overgrowing Millepora there.
>
>
>
> Palythoa is a pest in that it is toxic so it provides neither food nor
> shelter, and it's spread at the expense of corals in many places is a
> serious concern, but the ecological factors allowing it to spread are not
> known. One possibility is that food supplies that Palythoa is a more
> effective consumer of than corals are increasing, but little is known of
> the feeding habits of Palythoa, according James Reimer, a zoanthid expert
> I specifically asked about this a few years ago.
>
>
>
> Trinidad is an interesting exception to the general rule in that the other
> places where Palythoa is dominant are near the extreme cold limit of
> corals, which Trinidad is not, however it is near the extreme
> sedimentation limit of corals due to the influence of the Orinoco River.
>
>
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
>
> President
>
> Global Coral Reef Alliance
>
> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
>
> 617-864-4226
>
> goreau at bestweb.net
>
> http://www.globalcoral.org
>
>
>
> Message: 5
>
> Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 16:44:43 -0400
>
> From: "Jan-Willem van Bochove" <jvb at coralcayconservation.com>
>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Zoanthid (Paltythoa caribaeorum) overgrowth of
>
> corals
>
> To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>
> Message-ID: <20080307205035.40516179F5 at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>
>
> Hello,
>
>
>
> I've noticed that P. caribaeorum, a colonial zoanthid which forms
> extensive
>
> mats, is overtopping and smothering a large variety of scleractinian
> corals
>
> in shallow reef environments in Tobago.
>
>
>
> P. caribaeorum is an aggressive, fast growing and toxic zoanthid which
> seems
>
> to stop at nothing and I have yet to see any significant predation on the
>
> species. In a small, sheltered bay where most of our observations were
> made,
>
> it forms the dominant substrate with over 75% cover in the shallows
> (2-5m).
>
> We have also seen it overtopping massive corals in deeper waters.
>
>
>
> I was wondering if anyone has or knows of any recent research done on the
>
> zoanthid or has noticed its abundance elsewhere on such a scale. Other
> than
>
> a paper presented at the ICRS of 1981 in Manila by Suchanek and Green, I
>
> have not come across any literature dealing with inter-specific
> competition
>
> with corals.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Images of the zoanthid overgrowing corals can be found on -
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/23314528@N03/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Any feedback is appreciated.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Jan
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Reference -
>
>
>
> Suchanek T.H., and Green, D.J., 1981. Interspecific Competition Between
>
> Palythoa Caribaeorum and Other Sessile Invertebrates on St.Croix Reefs,
> U.S.
>
> Virgin Islands. Proceedings of the Fourth International Coral Reef
>
> Symposium, Manila, Vol. 2.
>
>
>
> --
>
> Jan-Willem van Bochove MSc
>
> Chief Technical Advisor
>
>
>
> Coral Cay Conservation Ltd
>
> Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NJ, United Kingdom
>
> Tel: +44 (0)20 7620 1411 (switch board)
>
> Fax: +44 (0)20 7921 0469
>
> email: jvb at coralcayconservation.com
>
> www.coralcay.org
>
> skype: jhvanbochove
>
>
>
>
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
>
> President
>
> Global Coral Reef Alliance
>
> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
>
> 617-864-4226
>
> goreau at bestweb.net
>
> http://www.globalcoral.org
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:51:02 -0400
> From: Thomas Goreau <goreau at bestweb.net>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Palythoa bleaching in Trinidad
> To: Dawn Phillip <Dawn.Phillip at sta.uwi.edu>, coral-list coral-list
> <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Cc: Joanna Ibrahim <Joanna.Ibrahim at sta.uwi.edu>, Jennie Mallela
> <Jennie.Mallela at sta.uwi.edu>, Jo?o Gama Monteiro <jmonteiro at uac.pt>,
> James Reimer <jreimer at jamstec.go.jp>, Stanton Belford
> <sbelford at martinmethodist.edu>
> Message-ID: <29698BF7-79AD-48DA-BB18-73214AAF918E at bestweb.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; delsp=yes;
> format=flowed
>
> Dear Dawn,
>
> Playthoa is one of the bleaching indicator species because it
> bleaches early and stays bleached longer than anything else. I've
> seen Palythoa completely bleached more than a year after a bleaching
> event started, and since while bleached they normally don't extend
> their polyps to feed, it is hard to know how they survive except off
> metabolic stores, but they somehow do. Given their extremely slow
> recovery, is it possible that they are recovering from bleaching
> during last year's warm season?
>
> Best wishes,
> Tom
>
>
>
> On Mar 10, 2008, at 5:22 PM, Dawn Phillip wrote:
>
>> Dear Tom
>>
>> Oh, there are Palythoa colonies closer to shore, especially in Toco
>> Bay. I have just begun measuring total suspended volatile solids
>> to try to quantify available organic particulates in the overlying
>> water column because I suspect that the corals here have to rely on
>> feeding for a substantial portion of their carbon requirements.
>>
>> We also noticed that there was a lot of bleaching of the Palythoa
>> on the reef crest ? large patches of about 30 cm in diameter on
>> some; collections of smaller (< 1 cm in diameter) of smaller white/
>> bleached spots on others. The Palythoa closer inshore appeared to
>> be in better condition.
>>
>> Dr Dawn A.T. Phillip
>> Lecturer
>> Department of Life Sciences
>> The University of the West Indies
>> St Augustine
>> Trinidad and Tobago
>> Ph: (868)662-2002 ex. 2208
>> Mobile: (868)394-3005; (868)464-6932
>> Fax: (868)663-5241
>> Email: dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu
>> Web: http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm
>> From: Thomas Goreau [mailto:goreau at bestweb.net]
>> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 5:03 PM
>> To: Dawn Phillip
>> Cc: coral-list coral-list; Jennie Mallela; Lee Ann Beddoe; Stanton
>> Belford; Jo?o Gama Monteiro; Dan and Stephanie Clark; James Reimer;
>> Joanna Ibrahim
>> Subject: Re: Palythoa overgrowing corals in Trinidad and elsewhere
>>
>> Dear Dawn,
>>
>> Glad to hear you and Stanton were in the field, and looking forward
>> to your observations. I think you will remember that we looked at
>> the earliest studies of these sites, and Palythoa seems to have
>> expanded landward quite a bit. The salinities are near normal, but
>> the turbidity is extremely high for coral reefs, and I think that
>> the Zoanthus may be able to feed of particulate organic carbon to
>> some degree, which might give them an edge. The factors at the cold
>> limits are presumably different, those areas are all pretty turbid
>> too, but nothing like Trinidad!
>>
>> Best wishes to all,
>> Tom
>>
>> On Mar 10, 2008, at 4:53 PM, Dawn Phillip wrote:
>>
>>
>> Stanton and I have just come back from a trip to survey the two
>> coral systems at Toco. We noticed that Palythoa seemed to be
>> dominant in specific bands on the reef, particularly on the reef
>> crest. It is easy to discern a Palythoa zone at low tide by
>> looking down at the ?reef? from the top of the cliff. Apart from
>> overgrowing hard coral and rocks, we have seen Palythoa overgrowing
>> Zoanthus, fire coral and anemones.
>>
>> On a side, water salinities in this area are usually between 34 ?
>> 35 p.s.u., which does not support the hypothesis of any significant
>> influence by the large South American rivers.
>>
>> Dr Dawn A.T. Phillip
>> Lecturer
>> Department of Life Sciences
>> The University of the West Indies
>> St Augustine
>> Trinidad and Tobago
>> Ph: (868)662-2002 ex. 2208
>> Mobile: (868)394-3005; (868)464-6932
>> Fax: (868)663-5241
>> Email: dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu
>> Web: http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm
>> From: Thomas Goreau [mailto:goreau at bestweb.net]
>> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 1:46 PM
>> To: coral-list coral-list
>> Cc: Dawn Phillip; Jennie Mallela; Lee Ann Beddoe; Stanton Belford;
>> Jo?o Gama Monteiro; Dan and Stephanie Clark; James Reimer
>> Subject: Palythoa overgrowing corals in Trinidad and elsewhere
>>
>> Palythoa overgrowth of corals is being studied in Toco and Salybia,
>> Trinidad, by a research group at the University of the West Indies
>> at St. Augustine including Dawn Philip, Jennnie Mallela, Lee Ann
>> Beddoe, and Stanton Belford. Our observations, compared to earlier
>> work by other Trinidadian researchers, shows that Palythoa is
>> clearly overgrowing corals and expanding over the reef flat.
>>
>> We see the same thing happening on a large scale in Broward County
>> Florida, where Dan Clark and I just photographed this last week,
>> and where large old corals are being overgrown. The same Palythoa
>> dominance is common in southern Brazil, for example from Cabo Frio
>> and Arraial do Cabo southwestwards. Palythoa mats dominate large
>> areas of the reefs of Cabo Verde, and photos sent to me last week
>> by Joao Gama Monteiro show it is even overgrowing Millepora there.
>>
>> Palythoa is a pest in that it is toxic so it provides neither food
>> nor shelter, and it's spread at the expense of corals in many
>> places is a serious concern, but the ecological factors allowing it
>> to spread are not known. One possibility is that food supplies that
>> Palythoa is a more effective consumer of than corals are
>> increasing, but little is known of the feeding habits of Palythoa,
>> according James Reimer, a zoanthid expert I specifically asked
>> about this a few years ago.
>>
>> Trinidad is an interesting exception to the general rule in that
>> the other places where Palythoa is dominant are near the extreme
>> cold limit of corals, which Trinidad is not, however it is near the
>> extreme sedimentation limit of corals due to the influence of the
>> Orinoco River.
>>
>> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
>> President
>> Global Coral Reef Alliance
>> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
>> 617-864-4226
>> goreau at bestweb.net
>> http://www.globalcoral.org
>>
>> Message: 5
>> Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 16:44:43 -0400
>> From: "Jan-Willem van Bochove" <jvb at coralcayconservation.com>
>> Subject: [Coral-List] Zoanthid (Paltythoa caribaeorum) overgrowth of
>> corals
>> To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>> Message-ID: <20080307205035.40516179F5 at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I've noticed that P. caribaeorum, a colonial zoanthid which forms
>> extensive
>> mats, is overtopping and smothering a large variety of
>> scleractinian corals
>> in shallow reef environments in Tobago.
>>
>> P. caribaeorum is an aggressive, fast growing and toxic zoanthid
>> which seems
>> to stop at nothing and I have yet to see any significant predation
>> on the
>> species. In a small, sheltered bay where most of our observations
>> were made,
>> it forms the dominant substrate with over 75% cover in the shallows
>> (2-5m).
>> We have also seen it overtopping massive corals in deeper waters.
>>
>> I was wondering if anyone has or knows of any recent research done
>> on the
>> zoanthid or has noticed its abundance elsewhere on such a scale.
>> Other than
>> a paper presented at the ICRS of 1981 in Manila by Suchanek and
>> Green, I
>> have not come across any literature dealing with inter-specific
>> competition
>> with corals.
>>
>>
>>
>> Images of the zoanthid overgrowing corals can be found on -
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/23314528@N03/
>>
>>
>>
>> Any feedback is appreciated.
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>>
>> Jan
>>
>>
>>
>> Reference -
>>
>> Suchanek T.H., and Green, D.J., 1981. Interspecific Competition
>> Between
>> Palythoa Caribaeorum and Other Sessile Invertebrates on St.Croix
>> Reefs, U.S.
>> Virgin Islands. Proceedings of the Fourth International Coral Reef
>> Symposium, Manila, Vol. 2.
>>
>> --
>> Jan-Willem van Bochove MSc
>> Chief Technical Advisor
>>
>> Coral Cay Conservation Ltd
>> Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NJ, United Kingdom
>> Tel: +44 (0)20 7620 1411 (switch board)
>> Fax: +44 (0)20 7921 0469
>> email: jvb at coralcayconservation.com
>> www.coralcay.org
>> skype: jhvanbochove
>>
>>
>> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
>> President
>> Global Coral Reef Alliance
>> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
>> 617-864-4226
>> goreau at bestweb.net
>> http://www.globalcoral.org
>>
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
> President
> Global Coral Reef Alliance
> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
> 617-864-4226
> goreau at bestweb.net
> http://www.globalcoral.org
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:42:20 -0400
> From: "Dawn Phillip" <Dawn.Phillip at sta.uwi.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Palythoa bleaching in Trinidad
> To: "Thomas Goreau" <goreau at bestweb.net>, "coral-list coral-list"
> <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Cc: Joanna Ibrahim <Joanna.Ibrahim at sta.uwi.edu>, Jennie Mallela
> <Jennie.Mallela at sta.uwi.edu>, Jo?o Gama Monteiro <jmonteiro at uac.pt>,
> besastian at googlemail.com, James Reimer <jreimer at jamstec.go.jp>,
> Stanton Belford <sbelford at martinmethodist.edu>
> Message-ID:
> <AC595DEA0338F5408CAF4311BEF0F70155555A at sauwiexch01.sauwi.uwi.tt>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Dear Tom
>
>
>
> I did not go out on the reef with Stanton last year but I think he
> mentioned seeing bleaching in August. If he confirms this (he is
> travelling at this time), and their recovery is that slow then I guess it
> is possible. Some of the Palythoa could have been in the process of
> bleaching or recovery - they were pale but not colourless.
>
>
>
> Dr Dawn A.T. Phillip
>
> Lecturer
>
> Department of Life Sciences
>
> The University of the West Indies
>
> St Augustine
>
> Trinidad and Tobago
>
> Ph: (868)662-2002 ex. 2208
>
> Mobile: (868)394-3005; (868)464-6932
>
> Fax: (868)663-5241
>
> Email: dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu <mailto:dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu>
>
> Web: http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm
> <http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Thomas Goreau [mailto:goreau at bestweb.net]
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 5:51 PM
> To: Dawn Phillip; coral-list coral-list
> Cc: Jennie Mallela; Lee Ann Beddoe; Stanton Belford; Jo?o Gama Monteiro;
> Dan and Stephanie Clark; James Reimer; Joanna Ibrahim
> Subject: Re: Palythoa bleaching in Trinidad
>
>
>
> Dear Dawn,
>
>
>
> Playthoa is one of the bleaching indicator species because it bleaches
> early and stays bleached longer than anything else. I've seen Palythoa
> completely bleached more than a year after a bleaching event started, and
> since while bleached they normally don't extend their polyps to feed, it
> is hard to know how they survive except off metabolic stores, but they
> somehow do. Given their extremely slow recovery, is it possible that they
> are recovering from bleaching during last year's warm season?
>
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Tom
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mar 10, 2008, at 5:22 PM, Dawn Phillip wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear Tom
>
>
>
> Oh, there are Palythoa colonies closer to shore, especially in Toco Bay.
> I have just begun measuring total suspended volatile solids to try to
> quantify available organic particulates in the overlying water column
> because I suspect that the corals here have to rely on feeding for a
> substantial portion of their carbon requirements.
>
>
>
> We also noticed that there was a lot of bleaching of the Palythoa on the
> reef crest - large patches of about 30 cm in diameter on some; collections
> of smaller (< 1 cm in diameter) of smaller white/bleached spots on others.
> The Palythoa closer inshore appeared to be in better condition.
>
>
>
> Dr Dawn A.T. Phillip
>
> Lecturer
>
> Department of Life Sciences
>
> The University of the West Indies
>
> St Augustine
>
> Trinidad and Tobago
>
> Ph: (868)662-2002 ex. 2208
>
> Mobile: (868)394-3005; (868)464-6932
>
> Fax: (868)663-5241
>
> Email: dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu <mailto:dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu>
>
> Web: http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm
> <http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Thomas Goreau [mailto:goreau at bestweb.net]
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 5:03 PM
> To: Dawn Phillip
> Cc: coral-list coral-list; Jennie Mallela; Lee Ann Beddoe; Stanton
> Belford; Jo?o Gama Monteiro; Dan and Stephanie Clark; James Reimer; Joanna
> Ibrahim
> Subject: Re: Palythoa overgrowing corals in Trinidad and elsewhere
>
>
>
> Dear Dawn,
>
>
>
> Glad to hear you and Stanton were in the field, and looking forward to
> your observations. I think you will remember that we looked at the
> earliest studies of these sites, and Palythoa seems to have expanded
> landward quite a bit. The salinities are near normal, but the turbidity is
> extremely high for coral reefs, and I think that the Zoanthus may be able
> to feed of particulate organic carbon to some degree, which might give
> them an edge. The factors at the cold limits are presumably different,
> those areas are all pretty turbid too, but nothing like Trinidad!
>
>
>
> Best wishes to all,
>
> Tom
>
>
>
> On Mar 10, 2008, at 4:53 PM, Dawn Phillip wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Stanton and I have just come back from a trip to survey the two coral
> systems at Toco. We noticed that Palythoa seemed to be dominant in
> specific bands on the reef, particularly on the reef crest. It is easy to
> discern a Palythoa zone at low tide by looking down at the 'reef' from the
> top of the cliff. Apart from overgrowing hard coral and rocks, we have
> seen Palythoa overgrowing Zoanthus, fire coral and anemones.
>
>
>
> On a side, water salinities in this area are usually between 34 - 35
> p.s.u., which does not support the hypothesis of any significant influence
> by the large South American rivers.
>
>
>
> Dr Dawn A.T. Phillip
>
> Lecturer
>
> Department of Life Sciences
>
> The University of the West Indies
>
> St Augustine
>
> Trinidad and Tobago
>
> Ph: (868)662-2002 ex. 2208
>
> Mobile: (868)394-3005; (868)464-6932
>
> Fax: (868)663-5241
>
> Email: dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu <mailto:dawn.phillip at sta.uwi.edu>
>
> Web: http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm
> <http://www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/dphillip.htm>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Thomas Goreau [mailto:goreau at bestweb.net]
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 1:46 PM
> To: coral-list coral-list
> Cc: Dawn Phillip; Jennie Mallela; Lee Ann Beddoe; Stanton Belford; Jo?o
> Gama Monteiro; Dan and Stephanie Clark; James Reimer
> Subject: Palythoa overgrowing corals in Trinidad and elsewhere
>
>
>
> Palythoa overgrowth of corals is being studied in Toco and Salybia,
> Trinidad, by a research group at the University of the West Indies at St.
> Augustine including Dawn Philip, Jennnie Mallela, Lee Ann Beddoe, and
> Stanton Belford. Our observations, compared to earlier work by other
> Trinidadian researchers, shows that Palythoa is clearly overgrowing corals
> and expanding over the reef flat.
>
>
>
> We see the same thing happening on a large scale in Broward County
> Florida, where Dan Clark and I just photographed this last week, and where
> large old corals are being overgrown. The same Palythoa dominance is
> common in southern Brazil, for example from Cabo Frio and Arraial do Cabo
> southwestwards. Palythoa mats dominate large areas of the reefs of Cabo
> Verde, and photos sent to me last week by Joao Gama Monteiro show it is
> even overgrowing Millepora there.
>
>
>
> Palythoa is a pest in that it is toxic so it provides neither food nor
> shelter, and it's spread at the expense of corals in many places is a
> serious concern, but the ecological factors allowing it to spread are not
> known. One possibility is that food supplies that Palythoa is a more
> effective consumer of than corals are increasing, but little is known of
> the feeding habits of Palythoa, according James Reimer, a zoanthid expert
> I specifically asked about this a few years ago.
>
>
>
> Trinidad is an interesting exception to the general rule in that the other
> places where Palythoa is dominant are near the extreme cold limit of
> corals, which Trinidad is not, however it is near the extreme
> sedimentation limit of corals due to the influence of the Orinoco River.
>
>
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
>
> President
>
> Global Coral Reef Alliance
>
> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
>
> 617-864-4226
>
> goreau at bestweb.net
>
> http://www.globalcoral.org
>
>
>
> Message: 5
>
> Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 16:44:43 -0400
>
> From: "Jan-Willem van Bochove" <jvb at coralcayconservation.com>
>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Zoanthid (Paltythoa caribaeorum) overgrowth of
>
> corals
>
> To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>
> Message-ID: <20080307205035.40516179F5 at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>
>
> Hello,
>
>
>
> I've noticed that P. caribaeorum, a colonial zoanthid which forms
> extensive
>
> mats, is overtopping and smothering a large variety of scleractinian
> corals
>
> in shallow reef environments in Tobago.
>
>
>
> P. caribaeorum is an aggressive, fast growing and toxic zoanthid which
> seems
>
> to stop at nothing and I have yet to see any significant predation on the
>
> species. In a small, sheltered bay where most of our observations were
> made,
>
> it forms the dominant substrate with over 75% cover in the shallows
> (2-5m).
>
> We have also seen it overtopping massive corals in deeper waters.
>
>
>
> I was wondering if anyone has or knows of any recent research done on the
>
> zoanthid or has noticed its abundance elsewhere on such a scale. Other
> than
>
> a paper presented at the ICRS of 1981 in Manila by Suchanek and Green, I
>
> have not come across any literature dealing with inter-specific
> competition
>
> with corals.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Images of the zoanthid overgrowing corals can be found on -
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/23314528@N03/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Any feedback is appreciated.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Jan
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Reference -
>
>
>
> Suchanek T.H., and Green, D.J., 1981. Interspecific Competition Between
>
> Palythoa Caribaeorum and Other Sessile Invertebrates on St.Croix Reefs,
> U.S.
>
> Virgin Islands. Proceedings of the Fourth International Coral Reef
>
> Symposium, Manila, Vol. 2.
>
>
>
> --
>
> Jan-Willem van Bochove MSc
>
> Chief Technical Advisor
>
>
>
> Coral Cay Conservation Ltd
>
> Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NJ, United Kingdom
>
> Tel: +44 (0)20 7620 1411 (switch board)
>
> Fax: +44 (0)20 7921 0469
>
> email: jvb at coralcayconservation.com
>
> www.coralcay.org
>
> skype: jhvanbochove
>
>
>
>
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
>
> President
>
> Global Coral Reef Alliance
>
> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
>
> 617-864-4226
>
> goreau at bestweb.net
>
> http://www.globalcoral.org
>
>
>
>
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
>
> President
>
> Global Coral Reef Alliance
>
> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
>
> 617-864-4226
>
> goreau at bestweb.net
>
> http://www.globalcoral.org
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:51:42 -0400
> From: "Szmant, Alina" <szmanta at uncw.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Zoanthid (Paltythoa caribaeorum) overgrowth
> of corals
> To: "Jan-Willem van Bochove" <jvb at coralcayconservation.com>,
> <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID:
> <4E15FCC7981F7A4CA5AA0DEF4B2141C91187D1F9 at UNCWMAILVS2.dcs.uncw.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Hello Jan-Willem:
>
> This is a common occurrence on Caribbean reefs and not new. Some fishes
> eat Palythoa (e.g. angel fishes,) and so does Diadema. However, this
> species is chemically defended so if it gets too big, fewer species are
> likely to be able to prey on it.
>
> Alina Szmant
>
> *******************************************************************
> Dr. Alina M. Szmant
> Coral Reef Research Group
> UNCW-Center for Marine Science
> 5600 Marvin K. Moss Ln
> Wilmington NC 28409
> Tel: (910)962-2362 & Fax: (910)962-2410
> Cell: (910)200-3913
> email: szmanta at uncw.edu
> Web Page: http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta
> ******************************************************************
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Jan-Willem
> van Bochove
> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 3:45 PM
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: [Coral-List] Zoanthid (Paltythoa caribaeorum) overgrowth of
> corals
>
> Hello,
>
>
>
> I've noticed that P. caribaeorum, a colonial zoanthid which forms
> extensive
> mats, is overtopping and smothering a large variety of scleractinian
> corals
> in shallow reef environments in Tobago.
>
> P. caribaeorum is an aggressive, fast growing and toxic zoanthid which
> seems
> to stop at nothing and I have yet to see any significant predation on
> the
> species. In a small, sheltered bay where most of our observations were
> made,
> it forms the dominant substrate with over 75% cover in the shallows
> (2-5m).
> We have also seen it overtopping massive corals in deeper waters.
>
> I was wondering if anyone has or knows of any recent research done on
> the
> zoanthid or has noticed its abundance elsewhere on such a scale. Other
> than
> a paper presented at the ICRS of 1981 in Manila by Suchanek and Green, I
> have not come across any literature dealing with inter-specific
> competition
> with corals.
>
>
>
> Images of the zoanthid overgrowing corals can be found on -
>
>
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/23314528@N03/
>
>
>
> Any feedback is appreciated.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> Jan
>
>
>
> Reference -
>
> Suchanek T.H., and Green, D.J., 1981. Interspecific Competition Between
> Palythoa Caribaeorum and Other Sessile Invertebrates on St.Croix Reefs,
> U.S.
> Virgin Islands. Proceedings of the Fourth International Coral Reef
> Symposium, Manila, Vol. 2.
>
> --
> Jan-Willem van Bochove MSc
> Chief Technical Advisor
>
> Coral Cay Conservation Ltd
> Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NJ, United Kingdom
> Tel: +44 (0)20 7620 1411 (switch board)
> Fax: +44 (0)20 7921 0469
> email: jvb at coralcayconservation.com
> www.coralcay.org
> skype: jhvanbochove
>
> Company Registration No: 02590980 Registered VAT No: 574173823
>
> Venture provided by Coral Cay Conservation to British Standard BS8848:
> Specification for the Provision of Visits, Fieldwork, Expeditions and
> Adventurous Activities outside the UK (self declared).
>
>
>
> P please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
>
>
>
> DISCLAIMER: This message (and any files transmitted with it) is intended
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>
> Coral Cay Conservation Ltd, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London SE1
> 7NJ,
> United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0)20 7620 1411
>
> www.coralcay.org
>
> _________________________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
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