Growth and chlorophyll density of individual fragments of the coral Porites divaricata measured during a reciprocal transplant experiment conducted at three sites in Turneffe Atoll, Belize from February to July 2022

Abstract

We sought to investigate the role of genetic, intra-clonal, and environmental variation in driving variation in fitness-related traits in the Caribbean thin finger coral, Porites divaricata (Taxonomy ID: 262287). We conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment whereby fragments from individual coral colonies of known genetic background were transplanted to three sites from February to July 2022. These sites included two mangrove sites and one reef site at Calabash Caye, Turneffe Atoll, Belize. Prior to and post-transplanting, fragments were measured to determine growth rate over this time. Coral fragments were also photographed to determine red channel intensity, which serves as a proxy for chlorophyll density.

This dataset contains the measures of these two coral traits (coral fragment growth and chlorophyll density (red channel intensity)) for each coral individual and also contains metadata about the genotype, origin site, transplanted site, rope at transplanted site, and age.

A related dataset contains environmental information about each transplanted site over this time period, based on loggers that recorded temperature and light levels. Data were collected by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Belize.

For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/927890