Abstract
Sediment-rejection rates of 22 Australian midshelf coral species were studied in situ between March and July 1988 at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. Rejection rates of non-branching species were positively correlated with calice size and were faster for fine (63 to 250 μm) than for coarse (500 to 1000 μm) sediment at influxes of 200 mg/cm2. Increasing water turbulence was a more important influence on rejection rates for some species than for others. Most replicates of most species cleared all sediment in 2 d. Of those that did not, some Favia stelligera and Leptoria phrygia showed partial tissue death within 48 h, and Gardineroseris planulata showed partial tissue death within 6 d. Montipora aequituberculata, Porites lobata and P. lutea tolerated sediment for at least 6 d, and exhibited extensive tissue bleaching, but these tissues recovered after sediment removal. Sediment-rejection efficiency and sediment tolerance are not directly related, and wide interspecific differences may occur in both. These findings are correlated with differences in sediment-rejection mechanisms and with ecological distributions on the reef.
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Communicated by G. F. Humphrey, Sydney
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Stafford-Smith, M.G. Sediment-rejection efficiency of 22 species of Australian scleractinian corals. Marine Biology 115, 229–243 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346340
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346340