MEPS 409:51-63 (2010)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08595

ABSTRACT: We wounded Pocillopora verrucosa to simulate injury caused by fish corallivores, and then evaluated impacts of this damage on coral performance under different temperatures (26.6 and 29.6°C) and flow speeds (6 and 21 cm s^–1) in microcosms. Colony growth (weight), photosynthetic efficiency (maximum dark-adapted quantum yield of PSII, F_v/F_m [where PSII is Photosystem II, F_v variable fluorescence and F_m maximum fluorescence yield in the dark]), and the healing of lesions were measured during 2 replicate 10 d trials. Injury caused growth to increase in 3 of 4 treatments: high flow, high temperature; low flow, high temperature; and low flow, low temperature. However, growth was greatest for uninjured corals in the high-flow, low temperature treatment, which appears to provide optimal conditions for P. verrucosa (when not injured). Temperature alone had little effect on growth but influenced F_v/F_m, as did flow; F_v/F_m was 5% greater at 26.6°C than 29.6°C, and 3% higher at 21 cm s^–1 than 6 cm s^–1. Injury had little effect on F_v/F_m, and neither temperature nor flow affected the rate of healing that occurred at 17 to 25% of the lesion area in 10 d. Results from a field experiment, in which growth of P. verrucosa was tested as a function of flow speed (~14 cm s^–1 versus ~3 cm s^–1) and fish predation (predators versus no predators), but not temperature, supported results of the microcosm experiment. Growth was greatest for corals in the high-flow, no predator treatment, and relatively high for injured corals in low flow. Together, these results suggest that P. verrucosa, a common branching coral, prioritizes overall growth over repair when injured by fish feeding, which differs from the outcome observed in a companion study in which juvenile colonies of massive Porites were subjected to similar injuries.

KEY WORDS: Coral · Predation · Flow · Temperature · Scleractinia

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Cite this article as: Lenihan HS, Edmunds PJ (2010) Response of Pocillopora verrucosa to corallivory varies with environmental conditions. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 409:51-63. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08595 Export citation Share:    Facebook - - linkedIn