[Coral-List] Proliferation of Acropora prolifera

[Eugene Shinn]

Dennis, I have been watching and photographing a good size patch (about 
100 ft across) of A. /prolifera/ at Dry Tortugas for the past 15 years. 
It is located at the edge of what is locally called 9-ft channel about a 
km from the fort. In recent years it has mostly died. However, at the 
same time there are indications that over all /Acropora/ sp is returning 
to Tortugas bank. (*Lidz, B.H.,* and Zawada, D.G., 2013, Possible return 
of /Acropora/ /cervicornis/ at Pulaski Shoal, Dry Tortugas National 
Park, Florida: Journal of Coastal Research, v. 29, no. 2, p. 256-271 
(doi: 10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-12-00078.1). This is interesting because our 
earlier coring/work showed /Acropora/ was historically never a 
significant reef builder at the Tortugas although there were significant 
live patches of A. /cervicornis/ prior to the cold spell of 1977 that 
decimated them. Coral mysteries still exist. Gene

-- 


No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
College of Marine Science Room 221A
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158
---------------------------------- -----------------------------------