Porites

[Robert van Woesik]

Hi all,

the Porites pink debated continued ... my two cents worth.

I wrote a short article in MEPS last year (MEPS 164: 213-220, 1998
"Lesion healing on massive Porites spp. corals"), see excerpt below for
relevant text. Clearly the pink colorations were not diseases but rather
active calcification areas. This then is in argeement with Cindy's and
Les's comments.

>From the above citation....(page 215)
Regeneration commenced with an initial 2-3 mm upward growth of the
healing edge followed by lateral encroachment of soft tissue and
skeleton toward the lesion's centre within the first month. The healing
edge was a conspicuous pink colour in the first month then became pale.
Macroalgae (Padina sp.) were common on the lesions in winter (December)
-  four months after the lesions were inflicted. No macroalgae were
present after February 1995.  Lesion recovery was not deterred by
filamentous or macroalgae. No evidence of grazing was seen on the
lesions throughout the study. A pink fleck consistently appeared on the
healing edge as it closed. The fleck turned pale one month  prior to
complete healing. ...


Rob van Woesik
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