Temporal variation in the symbiosis and growth of the temperate scleractinian coral Astrangia poculata

dc.contributor.author Dimond, Jay
dc.contributor.author Carrington, Emily
dc.date.accessioned 2011-04-26T13:16:36Z
dc.date.available 2012-01-01T09:30:25Z
dc.date.issued 2007-10-25
dc.description Author Posting. © Inter-Research, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Inter-Research for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Ecology Progress Series 348 (2007): 161-172, doi:10.3354/meps07050. en_US
dc.description.abstract Seasonal variation in the algal symbiosis and growth of Astrangia poculata, a facultatively symbiotic temperate scleractinian, was explored in Rhode Island, USA. Coral pigmentation and growth were measured simultaneously and repeatedly in both zooxanthellate (corals with symbionts) and azooxanthellate (symbiont free) colonies at 2 sites (~10 km apart) over a 15 mo period using non-destructive digital image analysis methods. A chlorophyll density proxy based on coral pigmentation was derived from multivariate analysis of color data from coral images, and polyps were enumerated to measure colony growth. Among zooxanthellate corals, predicted chlorophyll density exhibited significant seasonal fluctuations that were positively related to temperature, with maxima occurring during late summer and early autumn. Pigmentation dynamics in azooxanthellate corals were more variable, although many of these corals displayed temporal fluctuations in pigmentation. Growth also exhibited seasonal fluctuations positively related to temperature, and ceased during the coldest 3 to 4 mo of the year. Corals lost live polyps during the winter as a result of tissue thinning and dormancy, which rendered the colony unable to fend off settling organisms. Although zooxanthellate colonies were able to grow faster than azooxanthellate colonies, coral pigmentation explained only 23% of the variation in growth rate, emphasizing the importance of heterotrophy as the primary source of nutrition for A. poculata at this northern margin of its range. en_US
dc.description.sponsorship This study was supported by an American Academy of Underwater Sciences student scholarship to J.D., as well as by the URI Department of Biological Sciences, and National Science Foundation grants to E.C. en_US
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation Marine Ecology Progress Series 348 (2007): 161-172 en_US
dc.identifier.doi 10.3354/meps07050
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4516
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Inter-Research en_US
dc.relation.uri https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07050
dc.subject Temperate coral en_US
dc.subject Astrangia en_US
dc.subject Coral–Algal symbiosis en_US
dc.subject Seasonal variation en_US
dc.subject Scleractinian en_US
dc.subject Coral growth en_US
dc.subject Zooxanthellae en_US
dc.title Temporal variation in the symbiosis and growth of the temperate scleractinian coral Astrangia poculata en_US
dc.type Article en_US
dspace.entity.type Publication
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relation.isAuthorOfPublication b624d366-15be-49df-a52c-a1f3fb7cc83a
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery f490bac2-668b-45e5-9039-27daf6c40be0
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