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1.
O. Barneah I. Brickner M. Hooge V. M. Weis T. C. LaJeunesse Y. Benayahu 《Marine Biology》2007,151(4):1215-1223
Epizoic worms were found to occur on certain coral colonies from reefs off the coast of Eilat (Red Sea). We identified 14
coral species infested by acoelomorph worms at a depth range of 2–50 m. The host corals were all zooxanthellate and included
both massive and branching stony corals and a soft coral. Worms from all hosts were identified as belonging to the genus Waminoa and contained two distinct algal symbionts differing in size. The smaller one was identified as Symbiodinium sp. and the larger one is presumed to belong to the genus Amphidinium. Worm-infested colonies of the soft coral, Stereonephthya cundabiluensis, lacked a mucus layer and exhibited distinct cell microvilli, a phenotype not present in colonies lacking Waminoa sp. In most cases, both cnidarian and Acoelomorph hosts displayed high specificity for genetically distinctive Symbiodinium spp. These observations show that the epizoic worms do not acquire their symbionts from the “host” coral. 相似文献
2.
M. M. van Katwijk N. F. Meier R. van Loon E. M. van Hove W. B. J. T. Giesen G. van der Velde C. den Hartog 《Marine Biology》1993,117(4):675-683
Sediment discharges from rivers have a negative impact on coral reef ecosystems. Indicators of coral decline measured in the present study were: (1) injury to living stony corals; (2) soft coral cover; and (3) bare rocky substrate suitable for colonization by corals. The relationship between these indicators and the distribution of terrigenous sediment was studied for the Malindi-Watamu fringing reef complex along the Kenyan coast off East Africa during 1982 and 1983. Decline of this reef had been repeatedly noted during the preceding decade. The influence of terrigenous sediment from the Sabaki River appears to be strongest in the Watamu area in the south and in the northern-most part of the Malindi reef area. Correlations, between each of the above three coral stress response indicators, on the one hand, and quantitative indicators of sediment loading, on the other hand, were not clear. However, a combined coral stress indicator involving all three factors was shown to have a clear relationship with terrigenous sediment loading and provided a rapid means of field evaluation of the effects of sediment stress on stony corals. Values for the combined coral stress indicator were found to increase in proportion to increasing values of terrigenous sediment loads in both study areas. A higher coral stress indicator value means a high proportion of injured or algae infested corals, and/or a high soft coral cover, and/or a high proportion of rocky substrate suitable for, but unoccupied by, living corals. 相似文献
3.
The relative contribution of dissolved nitrogen (ammonium and dissolved free amino acids DFAAs) to the nitrogen budget of
the reef-building coral Pocillopora damicornis was assessed for colonies growing on control and ammonium-enriched reefs at One Tree Island (southern Great Barrier Reef)
during the ENCORE (Enrichment of Nutrient on Coral Reef; 1993 to 1996) project. P. damicornis acquired ammonium at rates of between 5.1 and 91.8 nmol N cm−2 h−1 which were not affected by nutrient treatment except in the case of one morph. In this case, uptake rates decreased from
80.5 to 42.8 nmol cm−2 h−1 (P < 0.05) on exposure to elevated ammonium over 12 mo. The presence or absence of light during measurement did not influence
the uptake of ammonium ions. Nitrogen budgets revealed that the uptake of ammonium from concentrations of 0.11 to 0.13 μM could completely satisfy the demand of growing P. damicornis for new nitrogen. P. damicornis also took up DFAAs at rates ranging from 4.9 to 9.8 nmol N cm−2 h−1. These rates were higher in the dark than in the light (9.0 vs 5.1 nmol m−2 h−1, P < 0.001). Uptake rates were highest for the amino acids serine, arginine and alanine, and lowest for tyrosine. DFAA concentrations
within the ENCORE microatolls that received ammonium were undetectable, whereas they ranged up to 100 nM within the control microatolls. The contribution of DFAAs to the nitrogen budget of P. damicornis constituted only a small fraction of the nitrogen potentially contributed by ammonium under field conditions. Even at the
highest field concentrations measured during this study, DFAAs could contribute only ≃11.3% of the nitrogen demand of P.␣damicornis. This contribution, however, may be an important source of nitrogen when other sources such as ammonium are scarce or during
periods when high concentrations of DFAAs become sporadically available (e.g. cell breakage during fish-grazing).
Received: 22 April 1998 / Accepted: 3 November 1998 相似文献
4.
N. A. Sloan 《Marine Biology》1982,66(1):67-75
The associated echinoderm fauna of 125 living heads of massive microatolls of Porites spp., branched heads of Porites nigrescens Dana and small, densely packed heads of the hydrocoral Millepora exacea Forskål of a shallow sublittoral lagoon flat at Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles was examined. The weight and number of echinoderms increased with coral size in all cases. The microatolls were the largest coral heads and sheltered the most diverse, underlying echinoderm cryptofauna comprising the largest bodied species, regardless of class or family. The infauna in heads of P. nigrescens was less diverse and smaller bodied than the echinoderms under microatolls. Only with P. nigrescens did species number increase with increasing coral size. Heads of M. exacea were the smallest and provided a habitat of compact interstitial spaces for the most depauperate, smallest bodied infauna which included juveniles of larger species. Ophiuroids dominated the coral-associated echinoderm faunas whereas larger bodied classes, such as echinoids and holothuroids, were less well represented. Large bodied ophiuroids such as certain ophiodermatids occurred only under microatolls, whereas the usually small bodied ophiotrichids dominated in the heads of M. exacea. The generally ubiquitous ophiocomids were well represented in, or under all corals. Heads of M. exacea could be nursery areas for recently metamorphosed juvenile ophiuroids and echinoids which, as they grow, seek shelter in corals with larger interstitial spaces such as P. nigrescens. Significant interspecific ophiuroid associations were related to space availability for larger species under microatolls and in heads of P. nigrescens. The possibility of microhabitat partitioning in corals among some ophiuroids is suggested. 相似文献
5.
Interactions between the red algaPlocamium hamatum J. Agardh (Rhodophyta) and other benthic organisms including the alcyonacean soft coralSinularia cruciata (Tixier-Durivault) were investigated on an inshore fringing reef environment in whichP. hamatum was the dominant large fleshy alga. Field observations of sessile reef organisms including octocorals and sponges living in close proximity toP. hamatum revealed that varying degrees of tissue necrosis were suffered by the invertebrates when in physical contact with the alga. In order to establish whether the chemical constituents of the alga, especially chloromertensene, played a role in this necrosis, manipulative field experiments were carried out in the Pelorus Channel, Palm Island group (18°34S; 146°29E), North Queensland, Australia, in November and December 1988. The first experiment involved the relocation of healthy plants and soft corals into contact and non-contact situations on a mesh grid. In all cases of contact betweenP. hamatum andS. cruciata, the soft coral suffered tissue necrosis (n=6,p=0.0022). The second experiment had the same design, but involved the use of artificial plants both uncoated and coated with natural levels of chloromertensene, in contact withS. cruciata. In all cases of contact with coated treatments, necrosis was observed inS. cruciata (n=4,p=0.025). In cases where uncoated artificial fronds were placed in contact with soft corals,S. cruciata showed minor abrasion effects, but no appreciable necrosis. Coated treatments were not fouled by epiphytes during the experiment and were not consumed by predators. Uncoated treatments were rapidly reduced in size by predation and any remaining material was biofouled. These experiments thus demonstrated that the deleterious effects observed in soft corals in the field were caused by contact with the algaP. hamatum, that these effects were indeed chemically mediated by chloromertensene, and that physical contact without chemical intervention caused no such deleterious effects. This is the first experimental evidence which conclusively demonstrates allelopathy between an alga and other marine organisms and identifies the compound responsible for the observed allelopathic effects. 相似文献
6.
Antimicrobial activity of Red Sea corals 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Dovi Kelman Yoel Kashman Eugene Rosenberg Ariel Kushmaro Yossi Loya 《Marine Biology》2006,149(2):357-363
Scleractinian corals and alcyonacean soft corals are the two most dominant groups of benthic marine organisms inhabiting the coral reefs of the Gulf of Eilat, northern Red Sea. Antimicrobial assays performed with extracts of six dominant Red Sea stony corals and six dominant soft corals against marine bacteria isolated from the seawater surrounding the corals revealed considerable variability in antimicrobial activity. The results demonstrated that, while the majority (83%) of Red Sea alcyonacean soft corals exhibited appreciable antimicrobial activity against marine bacteria isolated from the seawater surrounding the corals, the stony corals had little or no antimicrobial activity. From the active soft coral species examined, Xenia macrospiculata exhibited the highest and most potent antimicrobial activity. Bioassay-directed fractionation indicated that the antimicrobial activity was due to the presence of a range of compounds of different polarities. One of these antibiotic compounds was isolated and identified as desoxyhavannahine, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 48 μg ml−1 against a marine bacterium. The results of the current study suggest that soft and hard corals have developed different means to combat potential microbial infections. Alcyonacean soft corals use chemical defense through the production of antibiotic compounds to combat microbial attack, whereas stony corals seem to rely on other means. 相似文献
7.
Eduard A. Titlyanov Serguei I. Kiyashko Tamara V. Titlyanova Tatyana L. Kalita John A. Raven 《Marine Biology》2008,155(4):353-361
In summer 1998, shallow water corals at Sesoko Island, Japan (26°38′N, 127°52′E) were damaged by bleaching. In August 2003,
partially damaged colonies of the massive Porites lutea and the branching P. cylindrica were collected at depths of 1.0–2.5 m. The species composition of epilithic algal communities on dead skeletal surfaces of
the colonies (‘red turfs’, ‘green turfs’, ‘red crusts’) and the endolithic algae (living in coral skeletons) growing close
to and away from living coral polyps was determined. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values of organic matter (δ13C and δ15N) from all six of these biological entities were determined. There were no significant differences in the isotope composition
of coral tissues of the two corals, with P. lutea having δ13C of −15.3 to −9.6‰ and δ15N of 4.7–6.1‰ and P. cylindrica having similar values. Polyps in both species living close to an interface with epilithic algae had similar isotope values
to polyps distant from such an interface. Despite differences in the relative abundance of the algal species in red turfs
and crusts, their δ13C and δ15N values were not significantly different from each other (−18.2 to −13.9, −20.6 to −16.2, 1.1–4.3, and 3.3 to 4.9‰, respectively).
The green algal turf had significantly higher δ13C values (−14.9 to −9.3‰) than that of red turfs and crusts but similar δ15N (1.2–4.1‰) to the red algae. The data do not suggest that adjoining associations of epilithic algae and coral polyps exchange
carbon- and nitrogen-containing metabolites to a significant extent. The endolithic algae in the coral skeletons had δ13C values of −14.8 to −12.3‰ and δ15N of 4.0–5.4‰. Thus they did not differ significantly from the coral polyps in their carbon and nitrogen isotope values. The
similarity in carbon isotope values between the coral polyps and endolithic algae may be attributed to a common source of
CO2 for zooxanthellae and endolithic algae, namely, from respiration by the coral host. While it is difficult to fully interpret
similarity in the nitrogen isotope composition of coral tissue and of green endolithic algae and the difference in δ15N between green epilithic and endolithic algae, the data are consistent with nitrogen-containing metabolites from the scleractinian
coral serving as a significant source of nitrogen for the endolithic algae. 相似文献
8.
Jessica Haapkylä Adrian S. Seymour Orit Barneah Itzchak Brickner Sebastian Hennige David Suggett David Smith 《Marine Biology》2009,156(5):1021-1027
This is the first quantitative study on the prevalence of epizoic Waminoa sp. acoel worms and their association with corals in the Wakatobi Marine National Park (WMNP), South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Three replicate transects were laid on the reef crest, flat and slope at six sites in 2006 and eight sites in 2007. Four of
the sites were common in both years. In total 69 transects were surveyed in 2006, and 87 transects in 2007. A total of 4.8%
of all observed hard corals were associated with acoel worms in 2006 and 2.6% of hard and soft corals in 2007. Acoels were
present on 16 and 21 of the coral taxa studied in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The worms were strongly associated with the
azooxanthellate coral Tubastrea spp. and were rare or absent on the most abundant coral genera Montipora and Porites. The mean number of corals having acoels was highest on reef slopes, whereas acoels were virtually absent on reef flats. Corals
that had a high and a medium cover of worms were more common in 2007 than in 2006. No significant trend in the adaptation
of the zooxanthellae of Waminoa sp. to different depths at different sites was revealed. The impact of the worm on the coral is unknown, but high numbers
may have a shading effect and a negative impact on the coral’s photophysiology. This acoel merits more study of its life cycle,
its photophysiology, and its impact on its host corals.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献
9.
An interaction between the alcyonarian octocoral Nephthea brassica Kukenthal, 1904 and the scleractinian Acropora hyacinthus Dana was photographed and the assemblage collected at Rib Reef (18°15S; 146°45E), Central Region of the Great Barrier Reef, in September 1980. The interaction, which did not involve allelopathy, was characterised by extensive deposition of undifferentiated aragonite by the scleractinian in the vicinity of the soft coral, which moved across the surface of the acroporid. The basal attachment region of the nephtheid showed structural features which permitted movement. The net effect of this interaction was a series of divided trails across the surface of the acroporid plate evidencing the movement through growth and asexual division of the parent colony. These trails were susceptible to secondary colonisation by epifauna and algae which may reduce the fitness of the acroporid. This movement appears to afford N. brassica a distinct advantage in competing for space with acroporid corals. 相似文献
10.
Nutrients were added to 12 microatolls in One Tree Island lagoon every low tide for 13 mo to an initial concentration of
10 μM (ammonium, N) and 2 M (phosphate, P). These concentrations remained above background for 2 to 3 h after addition. The addition of ammonium (N and
N+P but not P alone) significantly increased P
g
(gross photosynthesis) P
n
(net photosynthesis) and R (respiration) per unit wet-tissue weight and α (photosynthetic efficiency) in Tridacna maxima after 3 mo nutrient enrichment. These responses to small and transient changes in ammonium concentrations suggest that symbiotic
clams are not nutrient-replete, and that even subtle changes in nutrients can have a measurable effect on photosynthesis.
The same clams did not show significant differences in photosynthetic parameters 6 mo after the beginning of nutrient enrichment,
suggesting that their previous responses had either been seasonal or that symbiotic clams such as T. maxima are able to adjust their photophysiology following external changes in nutrient concentrations.
Received: 26 August 1997 / Accepted: 11 December 1998 相似文献
11.
Sarcophyton elegans is a common symbiotic (zooxanthellate) octocoral species in the shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Study of
a population at Lizard Island (14°40′S, 145°28′E) on the GBR from October 1991 to January 1994 revealed that, as is typical
of tropical alcyonarian corals, S. elegans is a gonochoric broadcast spawner with a 1:1 sex ratio. Sexual reproduction was closely correlated with colony size, with
first reproduction at 13-cm basal stalk circumference for females and 12 cm for males. Oogenesis took 19–24 months, with a
new cycle commencing every year, and spermatogenesis took 10–12 months. The majority of gametes were released during the annual
austral mass coral spawning event after the full moon in November, but gametes were also released after the full moon in each
month between August and February. All autozooid polyps participated in reproduction, but those at the outer edge of a colony
released their gametes first. During subsequent months, the polyps closer to the center of the colony released their gametes.
This is a novel strategy of gamete release, reported here for the first time, which accommodates the demands of feeding and
reproduction in a different way than other corals where individual polyps have separate feeding or reproductive roles. Colonies
upstream in the prevailing current spawned up to 1 month earlier than those downstream and ceased 1 month earlier. The mechanism
controlling this spatial differentiation in spawning time, repeatedly observed over three seasons, is unknown. Sarcophyton elegans appears to have a dual strategy of providing protection for its gametes by releasing most of them concurrently with the single,
annual mass spawning of a large number of cnidarians, while also hedging its bets by individual colonies spawning a fraction
of their gametes over an extended period of 6 months. 相似文献
12.
The faecal pellets from specimens of the prosobranch mollusc Ovula ovum found feeding on the soft coral Sarcophyton sp. at Eclipse Island, Palm Island Group (18°46S; 146°33E) in November 1980 were analysed. The only terpene present in the faeces, 7,8-deoxysarcophytoxide, differed from the major constituent of the soft coral, sarcophytoxide, suggesting that the latter had been transformed into the former within the cowrie. This transformation is not trivial, and could not be produced simply by acid catalysis. Subsequent analysis of tissues dissected from different regions of O. ovum indicates that the transformation is probably effected by enzymes in the digestive diverticula stomach region of the prosobranch. The transformed compound is significantly less toxic to the mosquito fish Gambusia affinis Baird and Girard than the ingested compound. 相似文献
13.
Mucus released by scleractinian corals can act as an important energy and nutrient carrier in coral reef ecosystems, and a
distinct isotopic signature would allow following the fate of this material. This study investigates the natural C and N stable
isotopic signatures of mucus released by four scleractinian coral genera (Acropora, Fungia, Pocillopora and Stylophora) in comparison with those of suspended particulate organic matter (POM) in seawater of a Northern Red Sea fringing coral
reef near Aqaba, Jordan. The natural δ13C and δ15N signatures of coral mucus differed significantly from seawater POM for the majority of seasonal comparisons, but were inappropriate
for explicit tracing of mucus in the coral reef food web. Thus, a labeling technique using stable isotope tracers (13C and 15N) was developed that produced δ13C values of up to 122 ± 5‰ (mean ± SE) and δ15N of up to 2,100 ± 151‰ in mucus exuded by Fungia corals. 13C and 15N-enriched compounds were rapidly (within 3 h) and light-dependently transferred from the endosymbiotic zooxanthellae to the
mucus-producing coral host. The traceability of 15N-labeled mucus was examined by evaluating its uptake and potential utilization by epizoic acoelomorph Waminoa worms naturally occurring on a range of scleractinian coral taxa. This tracer experiment resulted in uptake of coral mucus
by the coral-associated acoelomorphs and further demonstrated the possibility to trace stable isotope-labeled coral mucus
by revealing a new trophic pathway in coral reef ecosystems. 相似文献
14.
The pattern of settlement over time of three broadcast spawning coral species (Cyphastrea serailia, Acanthastrea lordhowensis, and Goniastrea australensis) from the Solitary Islands (30°00′S; 153°20′E) was studied in 1995 and 1996 in order to determine the maximum length of time
these larvae could remain in the water column and still retain the ability to settle and metamorphose. Larvae were maintained
in aquaria and the number which had settled on biologically-conditioned tile pairs was monitored every 5 to 10 d. While the
majority of larvae settled quickly after becoming competent, some larvae survived and settled for extended periods after spawning.
Competency periods ranged from 26 d for C. serailia to 56 d for G. australensis and 78 d for A. lordhowensis. These data greatly extend the known competency periods for larvae of broadcast-spawning corals and indicate the potential
for transport of broadcast-spawned coral larvae over large distances. Medium to long-distance larval dispersal of the species
studied provides a mechanism for their widespread distribution in subtropical regions, on reefs which are often widely spaced
and relatively isolated.
Received: 27 May 1997 / Accepted: 27 November 1997 相似文献
15.
Stefano Goffredo Erik Caroselli Guido Mattioli Francesco Zaccanti 《Marine Biology》2010,157(12):2603-2612
In corals where complex life history processes decoupling age from size (e.g., fragmentation, fusion, partial colony mortality)
are rare or clearly detectable, individual age may be determined from size, and age-based growth and population dynamic models
may be applied. One example is the solitary Mediterranean coral Leptopsammia pruvoti Lacaze-Duthiers 1897, whose population size and structure, and growth rates were determined at Calafuria (43°28′N and 10°20′E),
Ligurian Sea, from December 2007 to June 2009. Growth rate decreased with increasing size. The growth curve derived from field
measurements confirmed the one obtained by growth band analysis. The frequency of individuals decreased exponentially with
age, indicating a steady state population. Turnover time was 2.3 years. Maximum life span was 13 years. Most reproductive
output was from intermediate age classes (6 years), while older individuals (>7 years), although having higher fecundity,
were rare and accounted for a minority of population reproductive output. In comparison with other solitary dendrophylliids,
L. pruvoti life strategy was characterized by a reproduction with r-strategy correlates (high fecundity, short embryo incubation, small planula size, fast achievement of sexual maturity), and
a rate of demographic renewal occurring halfway along the r–K continuum (intermediate turnover time and maximum longevity). 相似文献
16.
To understand how regeneration in corals may be affected by intrinsic and extrinsic factors, the process of repair of experimentally
induced tissue lesions was investigated in the solitary scleractinian coral Fungia granulosa. Three lesion sizes were inflicted in situ on large, sexually mature individuals (>5.5 cm diameter) and in small sexually
immature (<5.0 cm) individuals. Repair was monitored using photography and computerized image analysis. This procedure was
carried out in fall (September to November; post-reproductive months), and repeated with a new set of corals in spring (March
to May; gametogenic months). Reproductive effort was investigated histologically 1 to 2 months following lesion infliction.
In field experiments, there was a significant difference in percent of tissue coverage 8 weeks after lesion infliction between
spring and fall for all lesion sizes in large corals. During the fall, all lesion sizes in large corals were repaired within
8 weeks. Large lesions in small corals did not undergo repair regardless of season. During the spring, none of the corals
underwent complete repair regardless of coral size, and many of the small corals died. In laboratory experiments, 83.3% of
the corals kept at 25 °C and 16.7% of those kept at 21 °C underwent repair during the fall. None of the corals maintained
at 21 °C and only 16.7% of those corals maintained at 25 °C underwent complete repair during spring. Though both fecundity
and tissue regeneration were significantly reduced, gametogenesis continued in corals that had previously undergone experimental
injury. These results indicate that in fungiid corals, regeneration is affected by intrinsic factors such as size and reproductive
state as well as by environmental factors such as ambient water temperatures. Moreover, it is possible that, following injury,
energetic resources are diverted from repair towards the maintenance of reproductive effort.
Received: 21 March 2000 / Accepted: 28 July 2000 相似文献
17.
Variation in the genetic composition of coral (Pocillopora damicornis and Acropora palifera) populations from different reef habitats 总被引:6,自引:0,他引:6
The genetic structure of populations of the corals Pocillopora damicornis and Acropora palifera was examined in three habitats at One Tree Island during March and April 1993, using electrophoretically detectable variation at six allozyme loci. There were significant genetic differences among populations of P. damicornis within each of the reef crest, lagoon and microatoll habitats. The level of differentiation among populations was similar in each of the habitats. Differences between populations of P. damicornis from lagoon and microatolls were no greater than that within habitats, but genetic differentiation of these from crest populations was much higher. There was no difference in the genetic composition of A. palifera populations within or between the lagoon and microatolls, the only habitats where this species was found. Both coral species had observed:expected (G
O:GE) genotypic diversity rations >0.80, indicating predominantly sexual reproduction. These data, the high genotype diversity and general conformance of genotype frequencies to those expected under conditions of Hardy-Weinberg, suggested panmixis at each site. The high degree of sexual reproduction in the P. damicornis populations is unusual for a species where asexual reproduction has been the dominant mode of reproduction reported to date. Gene flow in both species was considerable between the lagoon and the closed microatolls. The genetic differences between populations of P. damicornis in these habitats and the reef crest may reflect the relative isolation of all populations within the closed One Tree Lagoon from those outside. However, local currents appear to offer effective means of dispersal between the habitats, suggesting that the genetic differences result from natural selection in the different environments within One Tree Lagoon and the reef crest. 相似文献
18.
The corallimorpharian Rhodactis rhodostoma (Ehrenberg, 1934) forms aggregations that dominate patches on some coral reef flats in the Red Sea. The outcomes and mechanisms
of competition for space between this corallimorpharian and other sessile organisms are poorly understood. Polyps of R. rhodostoma were observed to overgrow zoanthids, hydrozoan corals, sponges and encrusting macroalgae on a fringing reef at Eilat, northern
Red Sea. R. rhodostoma polyps also damaged, and in some cases overgrew, reef-building corals in the families Poritidae, Acroporidae and Pocilloporidae,
most of which form branching colonies with small polyps that are subordinate in coral competitive hierarchies. In contrast,
most stony corals in the families Faviidae and Mussidae had standoff interactions with R. rhodostoma, in which they prevented the corallimorpharians from damaging them or approaching closer than 1 to 3 cm. The latter corals
are ranked at the top of competitive hierarchies for Indo-Pacific corals, and they form massive colonies of large polyps which
may develop aggressive organs termed sweeper tentacles. Some soft corals that exude allelopathic chemicals also avoided overgrowth
by the corallimorpharians. Tentacles along the oral disk margin of R. rhodostoma polyps were swollen and bulbous during contacts with cnidarians. These bulbous marginal tentacles had significantly thicker
ectoderm and a higher proportion of holotrichous nematocysts than did the normally filiform marginal tentacles of R. rhodostoma polyps. It is concluded that, on the reef flat at Eilat, this corallimorpharian damages and overgrows a variety of sessile
competitors, including branching stony corals, via the application of specialised marginal tentacles filled with penetrating
nematocysts. R. rhodostoma is an intermediate competitor in the aggressive hierarchy among Indo-Pacific Anthozoa, including the reef-building corals.
Received: 1 July 1998 / Accepted: 24 March 1999 相似文献
19.
Colonies of the soft coral Lobophytum pauciflorum (Ehrenberg, 1834) (Coelenterata: Octocorallia: Alcyonacea: Alcyoniidae), some of which were heavily overgrown by the algae Ceranium flaccidum (Kuetzing) Ardissone and Enteromorpha sp., and other minor epizoites, were collected at Taylor Reef (17°50S; 146°35E) in the Great Barrier Reef. Overgrown colonies contained the diterpene 2-epi-sarcophytoxide as the major secondary metabolite, while conspecific colonies with clean polyparies contained two diterpenes in approximately equal amounts: 14-hydroxycembra-1,3,7,11-tetraene and 15-hydroxycembra-1,3,7,11-tetraene. By contrast, twenty conspecific pairs of overgrown and clean colonies of other alcyoniid soft corals collected from Pelorus Channel, Palm Island Group (18°34S; 146°29E), showed no chemical differences within in the pairs. Cultures of a common species of Ceramium [C. codii (Richards) Mazoyer] were incubated with different concentrations of nine soft-coral-derived diterpenes and significant algal growth inhibition was observed in many cases. It appears that terpenoids from soft coral may contribute to the lack of epizoic organisms on soft-coral polyparies. 相似文献
20.
Assignment of individuals to populations based upon genetic data is an important ecological problem that requires many polymorphic
markers, often more than are available using single locus techniques. To demonstrate the utility of amplified fragment length
polymorphisms (AFLP) in studying larval dispersal and recruitment in coral populations, two sets of AFLP primers were used
to genotype colonies of the coral Agaricia agaricites Linnaeus from three widely separated geographic locations: the Bahamas (23°28′N, 75°42′W) and Key Largo, Florida (24°55′N,
80°31′W—two sites separated by 12 km) in 1995, and the Flower Garden Banks (FGB) in the Gulf of Mexico (27°55′N,93°36′W) in
1997. In addition to adult samples from each site, recruits were collected from settling plates placed on the East FGB for
1 year (1997–1998). The AFLP technique yielded 45 polymorphic markers. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed significant
genetic differences among the four adult populations, even between the two Key Largo sites. The recruits were significantly
different from all adult populations except those from the FGB. Discriminant function analysis and the program AFLPOP were
used to assign individuals to populations. Using the adult AFLP-banding patterns to build the statistical models, both procedures
correctly assigned the majority of adults to their respective populations in simulations and assigned all but one of the recruits
to the Flower Garden population from where they were collected . The AFLP technique provides a simple and adaptable population
assignment method for studying recruitment processes in A. agaricites and other coral species.
Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at 相似文献