Keywords
planulae
Caribbean
Scleractinian
sexual recruitment
Acropora
Placas de asentamiento
planula
Caribe
Scleractineos
reclutamiento sexual
Acropora
How to Cite
Abstract
Coral recruitment was examined on terracotta tiles deployed for four six-month periods between March 2001 and April 2003 on the West Fore Reef at Discovery Bay, Jamaica. During each sampling period, four tiles were deployed on each of two arrays at six depths ranging from 3 m to 33 m. Only three Acropora spat recruited to the tiles over the sampling period. The Acropora spat recruited during only one of the four six-month sampling periods and at only one depth, 3m. That represents a density of 8 spat m-2 at 3 m depth for one six-month sampling period. Acropora recruitment represented <1 % of the total spat recruiting to the tiles deployed at 3 m during the four sampling periods. Density of acroporids on the West Fore Reef is low. Only one Acropora colony (an A. palmata) was recorded during Point-Quarter surveys of coral cover and density at depths of 3 m, 9 m, 14 m and 19 m. Considering the paucity of acroporid colonies and the infrequent settlement of acroporid spat on the West Fore Reef, it is unlikely that the historic abundance of A. palmata and A. cervicornis will return soon.References
Alee, W.C. 1931. Animal Aggregations. A study in General Sociology. Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago. 437 p.
Aronson, R.B. & W.F. Precht. 2001. White-band disease and the changing face of Caribbean coral reefs. Hydrobiol. 460: 25-38.
Bagget L.S. & T.J. Bright. 1985. Coral recruitment at the East Flower Garden Reef (northwestern Gulf of Mexico). Proc. 5th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Tahiti 4: 379-384.
Bak, R.P.M. & M.S. Engle. 1979. Distribution, abundance and survival of juvenile hermatypic corals (Scleractinia) and the importance of life histories strategies in the parent coral community. Mar. Biol. 54: 341-352.
Bruckner, A.W. 2002. Proceedings of the Caribbean Acropora workshop: Potential application of the U.S. Endangered Species Act as a conservation strategy. NOAA Tech. Memor. NMFS-OPR-24, Silver Spring, MD. 199 p.
Chiappone, M. & K.M. Sullivan. 1996. Distribution, abundance and species composition of juvenile scleractinian corals in the Florida reef tract. Bull. Mar. Sci. 58: 555-569.
Cox, G.W. 1972. Laboratory Manual of General Ecology. W.C. Brown, Dubuque. 195 p. Gilmore. J. 1999. Experimental investigation into the effects of suspended sediment on fertilization, larval survival and settlement in a scleractinian coral. Mar. Biol. 135: 451-462.
Goreau, T.F. 1959. The ecology of Jamaican coral reefs I. Species composition and zonation. Ecology 40: 67-90.
Goreau, T.F. & J.W. Wells. 1967. The shallow–water Scleractinia of Jamaica: revised list of species and their vertical distribution range. Bull. Mar. Sci. 17: 442-453.
Harrison, P. & C.C. Wallace. 1990. Reproduction, dispersal and recruitment of scleractinian corals, p. 133-207. In Z. Dubinsky (ed.). Ecosystems of the World. Vol. 25. Elsevier, New York.
Heyward, A., K. Yamazato, T. Yeemin & M. Minei. 1987. Sexual reproduction of coral in Okinawa. Galaxea 6: 331-343.
Hughes, T.P. 1994. Catastrophes, phase shifts, and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean reef. Science 265: 1547-1551.
Hughes, T.P., D.C. Reed & M.J. Boyle. 1987. Herbivory on coral reefs: community structure following mass mortality of sea urchins. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 113: 39-59.
Hunte, W. & M. Wittenberg. 1992. Effects of eutrophication and sedimentation on juvenile corals. II. Settlement. Mar. Biol. 114: 625-631.
Keogh, M.J. & B.J. Downes. 1982. Recruitment of marine invertebrates: the role of active larval choices and early mortality. Oecologia 54: 348-352.
Knowlton, N., J.C. Lang, M.C. Rooney & P. Clifford. 1981. Evidence for delayed mortality in hurricane damaged Jamaican staghorn corals. Nature 294: 251-252.
Knowlton, N., J.C. Lang & B.D. Keller. 1990. Case study of natural population collapse: Post hurricane predation of Jamaican staghorn corals. Smithson. Contrib. Mar. Sci. 31: 1-25.
Kojis, B.L. & N.J. Quinn. 1981. Factors to consider in transporting coral to accelerate regeneration of damaged coral reefs. Proc. Environ. Eng. Conf., 1981. Townsville, Queensland. Inst. Eng. Publ. 8(81): 183-187.
Kojis, B.L. & N.J. Quinn. 1993. Biological limits to Caribbean reef recovery. A comparison with western South Pacific reefs, p. 35-41. In R.N. Ginsburg (Comp.). Global Aspects of Coral Reefs, Health, Hazards, and History. RSMAS, Univ. Miami, Florida.
Kojis, B.L. & N.J. Quinn. 2001. The importance of regional differences in hard coral recruitment rates for determining the need for coral restoration. Bull. Mar. Sci. 69: 967-974.
Lessios, H.A. 1988. Mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean: what have we learned? Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 19: 371-393.
Linton, D. & T. Fisher (eds.). 2004. CARICOMP. Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity Program: 1993-2003. CARICOMP, FIU/UWI. 91 p.
Miller, M.W., E. Weil & A.M. Szmant. 2000. Coral recruitment and juvenile mortality as structuring factors for reef benthic communities in Biscayne National Park, USA. Coral Reefs 19: 115-123.
Porter, J.W. & O.W. Meier. 1992. Quantification of loss and change in Floridian reef coral populations. Amer. Zool. 32: 625-640.
Precht, W.F., A.W. Bruckner, R.B. Aronson & R.J. Bruckner. 2002. Endangered acroporid corals of the Caribbean. Coral Reefs 21: 41-42.
Randall, R.H., S.D. Rogers, E.E. Irish, S.C. Wilkins, B.D. Smith & S.S. Amesbury. 1988. A marine survey of the Obyan-Naftan reef area, Saipan, Mariana Islands. Univ. Guam Mar. Lab. Tech. Rep. No. 90: 56 p.
Rogers, C.S., H.C. Fitz III, M. Gilnak, J. Beets & J. Hardin. 1984. Scleractinian coral recruitment patterns at Salt River submarine canyon, St. Croix. U.S. Virgin Islands. Coral Reefs 3: 69-76.
Rylaarsdam, K.W. 1983. Life histories and abundance patterns of colonial corals on Jamaican reefs. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 13: 249-260.
Sammarco, P.W. 1980. Diadema and its relationship to coral spat mortality: Grazing competition and biological disturbance. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 45: 45-272.
Smith, S.R. 1992. Patterns of coral recruitment and post-settlement mortality on Bermuda’s reefs; comparisons to Caribbean and Pacific reefs. Amer. Zool. 32: 663-673.
Smith, S.R. 1997. Patterns of coral recruitment, recruitment and juvenile mortality with depth at Conch Reef, Florida. Proc. 8th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Panama 2: 1197-1202.
Tomascik, T. 1991. Settlement patterns of Caribbean scleractinian corals on artificial substrata along an eutrophication gradient, Barbados, West Indies. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 77: 61-69.
Tunnicliff, V. 1983. Caribbean staghorn coral populations: Pre-Hurricane Allen conditions in Discovery Bay, Jamaica. Bull. Mar Sci. 33: 132-151.
Anonymous. 1984. Comparing Coral Reef Survey Methods. Rep. Reg. UNESCO / UNEP Workshop. Phuket Marine Biological Centre, Thailand, 13-17 December 1982. UNESCO Rep. Mar. Sci. 21: 1-170.
van Moorsel, G.W.N.M. 1985. Disturbance and growth of juvenile corals (Agaricia humilis and Agaricia agaricites, Scleractinia) in natural habitats on the reef in Curacao. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 24: 99-112.
Vargas-Angel, B., J.D. Thomas & S.M. Hoke. 2003. High-latitude Acropora cervicornis thickets off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. Coral Reefs 22: 465-473.
Ward, S. & P.L. Harrison. 1996. The effects of elevated nutrients on settlement of coral larvae during the ENCORE experiment, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Proc. 8th Int. Coral Reef Symp., Panama. 2: 891-896.
Woodley, J.D. 1989. The effects of Hurricane Gilbert on coral reefs at Discovery Bay, p. 79-82. In P. Bacon (ed.). Assessment of the Economic Impacts of Hurricane Gilbert on Coastal and Marine Resources in Jamaica. CEP Tech. Rep. No. 4, UNEP. Caribbean Environment Programme, Kingston, Jamaica.
Woodley, J.D. & E. Robinson. 1977. Modern reef localities – West Discovery Bay. Field Guidebook to the Modern and Ancient Reefs of Jamaica. 3rd Int. Coral Reef Symp. Atlantic Reef Committee, Univ. Miami, Miami, FL. Pp. 18-26.
Woodley, J.D., E.A. Chornesky, P.A. Clifford, J.B.C. Jackson, L.S. Kaufman, N. Knowlton, J.C. Land, M.P. Pearson, J.W. Porter, M.C. Rooney, K.W. Rylaarsdam, V.J. Tunnicliffe, C.M. Wahle, J.L. Wulff, A.S.C. Curtis, M.D. Dallmeyer, B.P. Jupp, M.A.R. Koehle, J. Niegel & E.M. Sides. 1981. Hurricane Allen’s impact on Jamaican coral reefs. Science 214: 749-755.
Zubillaga, A.L., C. Bastidas & A. Cróquer. 2003. Estandarización de un protocolo para la estimación del estatus poblacional de Acropora palmata. Scient. Meeting Asso. Mar. Lab. Caribbean, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Abstract. Pp. 125.
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2005 Revista de Biología Tropical