Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Growth characteristics of the reef-building coral Porites astreoides under different environmental conditions in the Western Atlantic

  • Note
  • Published:
Coral Reefs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Skeletal extension (3.67 ± 0.65 mm year−1), density (1.49 ± 0.16 g cm−3), and calcification rate (0.55 ± 0.12 g cm−2 year−1) were determined using annual growth bands of Porites astreoides skeletons collected in three different reef systems in the Western Atlantic. The corals showed a low-density annual growth band at their apex, and seasonal timing of low and high-density band formation in P. astreoides appears to be similar at the three study sites in the Western Atlantic. The range of values presented here, for the three growth variables, spans the known range of skeletal-growth variability in P. astreoides for the Western Atlantic. The relationships between the growth parameters were similar to those previously described by other authors for massive Porites species from the Indo-Pacific, suggesting that P. astreoides has the same growth strategy, primarily investing calcification resources in extension rate. It is noteworthy that the P. astreoides population growing off the northwest coast of Cuba had similar growth characteristics as populations from the Caribbean region which were different from populations in the Gulf of Mexico, which seem to be isolated and adapted for growth at higher average sea-surface temperatures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Barnes DJ, Lough JM (1992) Systematic variations in the depth of skeleton occupied by coral tissue in massive colonies of Porites from the Great Barrier Reef. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 159:113–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes DJ, Lough JM (1993) On the nature and causes of density banding in massive coral skeletons. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 167:91–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes DJ, Lough JM (1996) Coral skeletons: storage and recovery of environmental information. Global Change Biol 2:569–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes DJ, Lough JM (1999) Porites growth characteristics in a changed environment: Misima Island, Papua New Guinea. Coral Reefs 18:213–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown BE, Lee Tissier M, Howard LS, Charuchinda M, Jackson JA (1986) Asynchronous deposition of dense skeletal bands in Porites lutea. Mar Biol 93:83–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buddemeier RW (1974) Environmental controls over annual and lunar monthly cycles in hermatypic coral calcification. Proc 2nd Int Coral Reef Symp 2:259–267

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairns SD (1999) Species richness of recent Scleractinia. Atoll Res Bull 59:1–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Carricart-Ganivet JP (2004) Sea surface temperature and the growth of the West Atlantic reef-building coral Montastraea annularis. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 302:249–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carricart-Ganivet JP (2007) Annual density banding in massive coral skeletons: result of growth strategies to inhabit reefs with high microborers’ activity? Mar Biol 153:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carricart-Ganivet JP, Barnes DJ (2007) Densitometry from digitized images of X-radiographs: Methodology for measurement of coral skeletal density. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 344:67–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carricart-Ganivet JP, González-Diaz P (2009) Growth characteristics of skeletons of Montastraea annularis (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) from the northwest coast of Cuba. Cien Mar 35:237–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Carricart-Ganivet JP, Merino M (2001) Growth responses of the reef-building coral Montastraea annularis along a gradient of continental influence in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Bull Mar Sci 68:133–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Carricart-Ganivet JP, Lough JM, Barnes DJ (2007) Growth and luminescence characteristics in skeletons of massive Porites from a depth gradient in the central Great Barrier Reef. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 351:27–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortés J, Risk MJ (1985) A reef under siltation stress: Cahuita, Costa Rica. Bull Mar Sci 36:339–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Cruz-Piñón G, Carricart-Ganivet JP, Espinoza-Avalos J (2003) Monthly skeletal extension rates of the hermatypic corals Montastraea annularis and Montastraea faveolata: biological and environmental controls. Mar Biol 143:491–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dávalos-Dehullu E, Hernández-Arana H, Carricart-Ganivet JP (2008) On the causes of density banding in skeletons of corals of the genus Montastraea. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 365:142–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge RE, Brass GW (1984) Skeletal extension, density and calcification of the reef coral Montastrea annularis: St. Croix US Virgin Islands. Bull Mar Sci 34:288–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodge RE, Vaisnys JR (1975) Hermatypic coral growth banding as environmental recorder. Nature 258:706–708

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge RE, Aller RC, Thomson J (1974) Coral growth related to resuspension of bottom sediments. Nature 247:574–577

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edinger EN, Limmon GV, Jompa J, Widjatmoko W, Heikoop JM, Risk MJ (2000) Normal coral growth rates on dying Reefs: are coral growth rates good indicators of reef health? Mar Pollut Bull 40:404–425

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang LS, Chen YWJ, Chen CS (1989) Why does the tip of stony coral grow so fast without zooxanthellae? Mar Biol 103:359–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flor TH, Moore WS (1977) Radium/calcium and uranium/calcium determinations for western Atlantic reef corals. Proc 3rd Int Coral Reef Symp 2:555–561

    Google Scholar 

  • González-Sansón G, Aguilar C, Hernández I, Cabrera Y, Curry A (2009) The influence of habitat and fishing on reef fish assemblages in Cuba. Gulf Carrib Res 21:13–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Goreau TF (1959) The ecology of Jamaican coral reefs I. Species composition and zonation. Ecology 40:67–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guzmán HM, Cortés J (1989) Growth rates of eight species of scleractinian corals in the eastern Pacific (Costa Rica). Bull Mar Sci 44:1186–1194

    Google Scholar 

  • Highsmith RC (1979) Coral growth rates and environmental control of density banding. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 37:105–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Highsmith RC, Lueptow RL, Schonberg SC (1983) Growth and bioerosion of three massive corals on the Belize barrier reef. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 13:261–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horta-Puga G, Carricart-Ganivet JP (1990) Stylaster roseus (Pallas, 1766): First record of a Stylasterid (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) in the Gulf of Mexico. Bull Mar Sci 47:575–576

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson JH, Shinn EA, Halley RB, Lidz B (1976) Sclerochronology: A tool for interpreting past environments. Geol 4:361–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordán-Dahlgren E (1992) Recolonization patterns of Acropora palmata in a marginal environment. Bull Mar Sci 51:104–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordán-Dahlgren E (2002) Gorgonian distribution patterns in coral reef environments of the Gulf of Mexico: Evidence of sporadic ecological connectivity? Coral Reefs 21:205–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Knutson DW, Buddemeier RW, Smith SV (1972) Coral chronometers: seasonal growth bands in reef corals. Science 177:270–272

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lough JM, Barnes DJ (1990) Possible relationships between environmental variables and skeletal density in a coral colony from the Central Great Barrier Reef. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 134:221–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lough JM, Barnes DJ (1992) Comparisons of skeletal density variations in Porites from the Central Great Barrier Reef. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 155:1–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lough JM, Barnes DJ (1997) Several centuries of variation in skeletal extension, density and calcification in massive Porites colonies from the Great Barrier Reef: a proxy for seawater temperature and a background of variability against which to identify unnatural change. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 211:29–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lough JM, Barnes DJ (2000) Environmental controls on growth of the massive coral Porites. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 245:225–243

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mallela J, Perry CT (2007) Calcium carbonate budgets for two coral reefs affected by different terrestrial runoff regimes, Rio Bueno, Jamaica. Coral Reefs 26:129–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merino M (1997) Upwelling on the Yucatan Shelf: Hydrographic evidence. J Mar Res 13:101–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Merino M, Czitrom S, Jordán E, Martin E, Thome P, Moreno O (1990) Hydrology and rain flushing of the Nichupté Lagoon System, Cancún, Mexico. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 30:223–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oficina Nacional de Estadística (2005) Censo de población y viviendas, Cuba 2002. Informe Nacional. República de Cuba, p 400

  • Potts DC, Done TJ, Isdale PJ, Fisk DA (1985) Dominance of a coral community by the genus Porites (Scleractinia). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 23:79–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rayner NA, Parker DE, Horton EB, Folland CK, Alexander LV, Rowell DP, Kent EC, Kaplan A (2003) Global analyses of sea surface temperature, sea ice, and night marine air temperature since the late nineteenth century. J Geophys Res.108, 4407. doi:10.1029/2002JD002670

  • Scoffin TP, Tudhope AW, Brown BE, Chansang H, Cheeney RF (1992) Patterns and possible environmental controls of skeletogenesis of Porites lutea, South Thailand. Coral Reefs 11:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor RB, Barnes DJ, Lough JM (1993) Simple models of density band formation in massive corals. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 167:109–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomascik T, Sander F (1985) Effects of eutrophication on reef-building corals I. Growth rate of the reef-building coral Montastrea annularis. Mar Biol 87:143–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veron JEN (2000) Corals of the World, vol. 3. Australian Institute of Marine Science & CRR Qld Pty Ltd, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Wórum FP, Carricart-Ganivet JP, Benson L, Golicher D (2007) Simulation and observations of annual density banding in skeletons of Montastraea (Cnidaria : Scleractinia) growing under thermal stress associated with ocean warming. Limnol Oceanogr 52:2317–2323

    Google Scholar 

  • Zavala-Hidalgo J, Parés-Sierra A, Ochoa J (2002) Seasonal variability of the temperature and heat fluxes in the Gulf of Mexico. Atmósfera 15:81–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Zavala-Hidalgo J, Morey SL, O’Brien JJ (2003) Seasonal circulation on the western shelf of the Gulf of Mexico using a high-resolution numerical model. J Geophys Res 108(C12):3389. doi:10.1029/2003JC001879

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The manuscript was notably improved by comments of L. Benson, J. Espinoza-Ávalos, G. Leyte-Morales, and three anonymous reviewers. We thank I. Rodríguez-Mauri and C. Varela (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana), and A.U. Beltrán-Torres, H. Hernández-Arana and L.M. Hernández-Ballesteros (ECOSUR), and J.L. Tello-Musi (FESI, UNAM) for their assistance with field collections. Special thanks to the staff of the “Parque Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano”, for the facilities provided during the fieldwork. During the investigation, E.M. Elizalde-Rendón was in the Postgraduates Program of ECOSUR and had a scholarship from CONACYT. D. Gugenheim (Harte Research Institute) sponsored part of the fieldwork. This research was supported by grants from CONACYT (project U48757-F), and CONABIO (project DM005).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Chetumal, Av. Centenario km 5.5. Apdo. Postal 424, Chetumal, Q.Roo, 77000, Mexico

    E. M. Elizalde-Rendón & J. P. Carricart-Ganivet

  2. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. De los Barrios S/N, Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlanepantla, E.M., 54910, Mexico

    G. Horta-Puga

  3. Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, Calle 16 # 114 e/1ra y 3ra, Miramar, Playa, C.H., Cuba

    P. González-Diaz

Authors
  1. E. M. Elizalde-Rendón
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. Horta-Puga
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. P. González-Diaz
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. P. Carricart-Ganivet
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. P. Carricart-Ganivet.

Additional information

Communicated by Environment Editor Prof. Rob van Woesik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Elizalde-Rendón, E.M., Horta-Puga, G., González-Diaz, P. et al. Growth characteristics of the reef-building coral Porites astreoides under different environmental conditions in the Western Atlantic. Coral Reefs 29, 607–614 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0604-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0604-7

Keywords