[Coral-List] Is there a time limit up to which buoyant weight based growth rates are useful in corals?
Thomas Krueger
thomas.krueger at epfl.ch
Wed Dec 21 07:16:54 EST 2016
Is there a time limit up to which buoyant weight based growth rates are
useful in corals?
The buoyant weight technique is an easy method to determine coral
growth. Due to the fact that growth rates are finally expressed as
weight increments per day, do these values not become skewed for long
incubation periods? Because, especially in foliaceous and massive
corals, a substantial increase in surface area due to growth will cause
an increase in the daily absolute CaCO3 depositions. Thus, an averaged
growth number (mg day-1) derived from a couple of weeks or months of
growth will be stronger influenced by the larger absolute weight gains
in the last part of the incubation. Are there recommendations on the
maximal time frames that are useful to calculate averaged daily growth
rates based on buoyant weight? My question arises from the findings of
Goreau & Goreau 1960 (Biological Bulletin 118 (3) 419-429) and Kawaguti
1941 (Palao Trop. Biol. Sta. 2: 309-317), even though I have not read
the second one. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
--
*--*
*Thomas Krueger */Postdoctoral Researcher/
Laboratory for Biological Geochemistry | École polytechnique fédérale de
Lausanne (EPFL)
*P*: (+41) 21 69 38039
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