[Coral-List] Re: high salinity and corals
Charles Sheppard
Charles.Sheppard at warwick.ac.uk
Wed Sep 1 03:23:59 EDT 2004
Re your question can corals survive 42 ppt. In embayments in the Arabian Gulf, a few do. Check table 12.1 in the now elderly book: 'Marine Ecology of the Arabian Region'. I list 9 spp which survive extended periods of 46 ppt (maybe all year round but certainly for several months that we know about), 7 species which survive 48 ppt, and 3 which survive 50 ppt. Beyond that I found none - just Sargassum and relatives.
The Gold, Silver and Bronze medallists are: Porites nodifera, Cyphastrea microphthalama and Siderastrea savigyana. Of these, the last survives partly burried in sediments too, so probably deserves the Gold!
Best Wishes
Dr Charles Sheppard
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