[Coral-List] Size-structure patterns of juvenile hard corals in the Maldives
Ulisse Cardini
ulisse.cardini at zmt-bremen.de
Tue Sep 4 09:45:45 EDT 2012
Dear Coral Listers,
I'm writing to draw your attention to a paper recently published in the
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. We
hope it will be a useful piece of information for everybody who is
working on coral recruitment as one of the main factors driving reef
resilience and recovery:
Ulisse Cardini, Mariachiara Chiantore, Roberta Lasagna, Carla Morri and
Carlo Nike Bianchi (2012). Size-structure patterns of juvenile hard
corals in the Maldives. /Journal of the Marine Biological Association of
the United Kingdom/, 92, pp 1335-1339 doi:10.1017/S0025315411001561 Link
to the article <http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0025315411001561>
Abstract: "In April 2006 and May 2007 abundance data of small coral
colonies were collected in the central atolls of the Maldives (N 3°35.9
-- 4°26.6 E 72°47.3 -- 73°57.5) in order to evaluate variability in hard
coral recruitment and post-settlement success. Visual quadrats were
randomly placed in two reef typologies (oceanic reef and lagoonal reef)
at three different depths. Colonies were conventionally defined as
'recruits' when smaller than 5 cm in diameter, whereas the term
'juveniles' was reserved for colonies ranging between 5 and 15 cm. Clear
differences in the relative importance of the two size-classes across
the three different depths and the two reef typologies were found. A
size-structure index (SsI%), based on abundance data, was calculated in
order to evaluate the percentage of 'recruits' out of the total juvenile
hard corals. SsI% values differed between reef typologies and according
to depth zones with a higher percentage of 'recruits' found in shallow
oceanic reefs. Physical and ecological differences between the two reef
typologies according to depth are presumed to cause different success in
the settlement of new colonies and their survival during growth. Coupled
with the usual estimates of hard coral cover, SsI% may represent a
useful tool for monitoring, and be effective for the quick assessment of
coral reef recovery after disturbances."
Regards,
Ulisse Cardini on behalf of the authors
--
Ulisse Cardini
PhD candidate
Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT)
Fahrenheitstrasse 6
28359 Bremen
Germany
Tel. +49(0)421/238 00-138
Fax +49(0)421/238 00-30
www.zmt-bremen.de/en/Page1947.html
ulisse.cardini at zmt-bremen.de
-------------------------------------------------------
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