Abstract
Many facets of coral research require coral colony surface area estimates. This study developed a relationship between the two-dimensional (2D) projected area and the three-dimensional (3D) whole colony surface area for two commonly studied Indo-Pacific coral species: Pocillopora damicornis and Stylophora pistillata. The surface index function was used to measure the growth of colonies in situ around Heron reef on the southern Great Barrier Reef. The results show that while growth between the two species was not significantly different when measured in two dimensions, the 3D area showed significantly different growth rates with S. pistillata growing at almost double the rate of P. damicornis. The study demonstrates that it is possible to make reliable estimates of the 3D surface area of entire colonies of these complex branching coral species, using the plan view of the coral and a pre-determined surface index function. In addition, this study shows that the 3D surface area provides a more useful measure of colony growth than the traditional methods of either 2D area or longest dimension.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Alcala MLR, Vogt H (1997) Approximation of coral reef surfaces using standardized growth forms and video counts. Proceedings of the 8th International Coral Reef Symposium 2:1453–1458
Bak RPM, Meesters EH (1999) Population structure as a response of coral communities to global change (1). Am Zool 39:56–65
Bythell JC, Pan P, Lee J (2001) Three-dimensional morphometric measurements of reef corals using underwater photogrammetry techniques. Coral Reefs 20:193–199. doi:10.1007/s003380100157
Chancerelle Y (2000) Méthodes d’ estimation des surfaces développées de coraux scléractiniaires à l’échelle d’une colonie ou d’un peuplement. Oceanol Acta 23:211–219. doi:10.1016/S0399-1784(00)00125-0
Cocito S, Sgorbini S, Peirano A, Valle M (2003) 3-D reconstruction of biological objects using underwater video technique and image processing. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 297:57–70. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(03)00369-1
Courtney LA, Fisher WS, Raimondo S, Oliver LM, Davis WP (2007) Estimating 3-dimensional colony surface area of field corals. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 351:234–242. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2007.06.021
Dahl AL (1973) Surface-area in ecological analysis—quantification of benthic coral reef algae. Mar Biol (Berl) 23:239–249. doi:10.1007/BF00389331
Edmunds PJ, Gates RD (2002) Normalizing physiological data for scleractinian corals. Coral Reefs 21:193–197
Hood GM (2005) PopTools version 2.6.7. URL http://www.cse.csiro.au/poptools
Hoegh-Guldberg O (1988) A method for determining the surface area of corals. Coral Reefs 7:113–116. doi:10.1007/BF00300970
Hughes TP, Jackson JBC (1985) Population dynamics and life histories of foliaceous corals. Ecol Monogr 55:141–166. doi:10.2307/1942555
Hughes TP, Connell JH (1987) Population dynamics based on size or age? a reef-coral analysis. Am Nat 129:818–829. doi:10.1086/284677
Jokiel P (1978) Effects of water motion on reef corals. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 35:87–97. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(78)90092-8
Kaandorp JA, Sloot PMA, Merks RMH, Bak RPM, Vermeij MJA, Maier C (2005) Morphogenesis of the branching reef coral Madracis mirabilis. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 272:127–133. doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2934
Kanwisher JW, Wainwright SA (1967) Oxygen balance in some reef corals. Biol Bull 133:378–390. doi:10.2307/1539833
Kohler KE, Gill SM (2006) Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe): a Visual Basic program for the determination of coral and substrate coverage using random point count methodology. Comput Geosci 32:1259–1269. doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2005.11.009
Loya Y (1976a) Skeletal regeneration in a Red-Sea scleractinian coral population. Nature 261:490–491. doi:10.1038/261490a0
Loya Y (1976b) The Red Sea coral Stylophora pistillata is an r strategist. Nature 259:478–480. doi:10.1038/259478a0
Marsh JA (1970) Primary productivity of reef-building calcareous red algae. Ecology 51:255–263. doi:10.2307/1933661
Meesters EH, Hilterman M, Kardinaal E, Keetman M, deVries M, Bak RPM (2001) Colony size-frequency distributions of scleractinian coral populations: spatial and interspecific variation. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 209:43–54. doi:10.3354/meps209043
Meyer JL, Schultz (1985) Tissue condition and growth-rate of corals associated with schooling fish. Limnol Oceanogr 30:157–166
Muko S, Kawasaki K, Takasu ST, Shigeda N (2000) Morphological plasticity in the coral Porites sillimaniani and its adaptive significance. Bull Mar Sci 66:225–239
Odum HT, Odum EP (1955) Trophic structure and productivity of a windward coral reef community on Eniwetok Atoll. Ecol Monogr 25:291–320. doi:10.2307/1943285
Stimson J, Kinzie RA (1991) The temporal pattern and rate of release of zooxanthellae from the reef coral Pocillopira damicornis (Linnaeus) under nitrogen-enrichment and control conditions. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 153:63–74. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(05)80006-1
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Selina Ward and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg from The University of Queensland and Merrick Ekins from the Queensland Museum for access to coral skeletons and to the three anonymous reviewers for comments on the draft manuscript. All experiments undertaken within this study comply with the current laws of Australia, the country in which they were performed.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by P. Kraufvelin.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Holmes, G., Ortiz, J., Kaniewska, P. et al. Using three-dimensional surface area to compare the growth of two Pocilloporid coral species. Mar Biol 155, 421–427 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-008-1040-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-008-1040-x
Keywords
- Colony Size
- Great Barrier Reef
- Reef Flat
- Coral Species
- Colony Growth