Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Title

Species-specific trends in the reproductive output of corals across environmental gradients and bleaching histories

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-30-2016

Publication Title

Marine Pollution Bulletin

Keywords

Marginal reefs, Persian gulf, Gulf of Oman, Acropora, Platygyra, Cyphastrea

ISSN

0025-326X

Volume

105

Issue/No.

2

First Page

532

Last Page

539

Abstract

Coral populations in the Persian Gulf have a reputation for being some of the toughest in the world yet little is known about the energetic constraints of living under temperature and salinity extremes. Energy allocation for sexual reproduction in Gulf corals was evaluated relative to conspecifics living under milder environmental conditions in the Oman Sea. Fecundity was depressed at Gulf sites in two Indo-Pacific merulinid species (Cyphastrea microphthalma and Platygyra daedalea) but not in a regionally endemic acroporid (Acropora downingi). Gulf populations of each species experienced high temperature bleaching at the onset of gametogenesis in the study but fecundity was only negatively impacted in P. daedalea and A. downingi. Large population sizes of C. microphthalma and P. daedalea in the Gulf are expected to buffer reductions on colony-level fecundity. However, depleted population sizes of A. downingi at some Gulf sites equate to low reef-wide fecundity and likely impede outcrossing success.

Comments

Appendix A. Supplementary data

Download : Download Acrobat PDF file (245KB)

Additional Comments

This study was permitted by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, Fujairah Municipality and Dibba Municipality. Funding was provided by New York University Abu Dhabi, the Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, and the Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environment Fund.

ORCID ID

0000-0001-9260-2153

DOI

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.034

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