[Coral-List] Proliferation of Acropora prolifera

Delbeek, Charles CDelbeek at calacademy.org
Tue Sep 3 12:32:18 EDT 2013


I believe this may be an example of hybrid fitness, A. prolifera has been found growing in shipping channels in Government Cut leading out of Miami.

http://tedxmiami.com/bio/foord-colin/

http://www.coralbiome.com/2011/10/super-coral/


J. Charles Delbeek, M.Sc.
Assistant Curator, Steinhart Aquarium
California Academy of Sciences

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-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Dennis Hubbard
Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2013 6:13 AM
To: vassil zlatarski
Cc: Nicole Fogarty; Coral -List
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Proliferation of Acropora prolifera

At the risk of displaying my ignorance as a geologist, am I correct that A.
prolifera cannot reproduce sexually (nature's version of an army mule)? I'd
be interested in an informed discussion of the reproductive pathways that
might produce this result. If, in fact, there must be other acroporids
involved, then there must be enough of them to increase the numbers of this
hybrid species. In this scenario, is the fact that hybridization seems to
be trumping within-species sexual reproduction significant and, if so, what
might it be telling us. Or, is it it just fragmentation gone wild.

Inquiring minds want to know,

Dennis


On Mon, Sep 2, 2013 at 8:24 AM, vassil zlatarski <vzlatarski at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Dear colleagues,
>
> It is surprising that in this period of degradation of the coral reefs the
> Caribbean hybrid Acropora prolifera is proliferating during last four
> decades. This counter-intuitive trend is evident due to the facts that the
> hybrid was found lately in more places, in larger quantity of colonies and
> in various growth forms.I would greatly appreciate anyinformation and
> advise on this matter.
>
> Also, any data aboutfossilA. prolifera?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Vassil
>
> Vassil Zlatarski
> D.Sc. (Biology), Ph.D. (Geology)
>
> 131 Fales Rd., Bristol, RI 02809, USA;  tel.:
>  +1-401-254-5121
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>



-- 
Dennis Hubbard
Chair, Dept of Geology-Oberlin College Oberlin OH 44074
(440) 775-8346

* "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong stop"*
 Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"
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