In situ trampling occurred under experimental conditions to quantify the differences in the responses to anthropogenic trampling in four dominant species of Hawaiian corals, Porites compressa, Porites lobata, Montipora capitata, and Pocillopora meandrina. Trampling was simulated daily for a period of nine days at which time further breakage was minimal. Forty treatment colonies produced 559 fra...

The scleractinian finger coral Porites compressa is affected by the coral disease Porites bleaching with tissue loss (PBTL). This disease initially manifests as bleaching of the coenenchyme (tissue between polyps) while the polyps remain brown with eventual tissue loss and subsequent algal overgrowth of the bare skeleton. Histopathological investigation showed a loss of symbiont and melanin-con...

Chlorophyll fluorescence has been used to predict and monitor coral bleaching over short timescales (hours to days), but long-term changes during recovery remain largely unknown. To evaluate changes in fluorescence during long-term bleaching and recovery, Porites compressa and Montipora capitata corals were experimentally bleached in tanks at 30 degrees C for 1 month, while control fragments we...

Larvae of the nudibranch mollusc Phestilla sibogae metamorphose in response to a small organic compound released into seawater by their adult prey, the scleractinian coral Porites compressa. The transformations that occur during metamorphosis, including loss of the ciliated velum (swimming organ), evacuation of the shell, and bodily elongation, are thought to be controlled by a combination of n...

Spatially intimate symbioses, such as those between scleractinian corals and unicellular algae belonging to the genus Symbiodinium, can potentially adapt to changes in the environment by altering the taxonomic composition of their endosymbiont communities. We quantified the spatial relationship between the cumulative frequency of thermal stress anomalies (TSAs) and the taxonomic composition of ...

based on the morphology and corallites structures, seventeen species of scleractinian corals in seven families were described from the chabahar bay, fourteen species of which are being reported for the first time from this bay. the identified species include  acropora valida dana, 1846,  acropora clathrata brook, 1891 and  acropora nausta dana, 1846 belonging to acroporidae, favia matthai vaugh...

Endolithic algae inhabiting skeletons of living corals appear to be adapted to an extreme environment created by the coral. However, measurements on three coral species from the genus Porites revealed that these corals provide several modes of protection to the algae as well. High concentrations of ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing compounds, mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), were found in the tiss...

Growth and mortality of the three dominant coral species occurring in Kane'ohe Bay were determined for four periods from November 1991 to January 1993 at four stations in the bay's southeast basin. Twelve water quality parameters were monitored biweekly to monthly at these stations from November 1991 to August 1992. Both water quality measurements and coral survival and growth indicated conside...