Skeletal variability of the coral Favia gravida (Verrill, 1868) from Brazil

Amaral, Fernanda Duarte; Ramos, Carla Alecrim Colaço

doi:10.1590/s1676-06032007000300027

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…The type specimens of F. gravida are massive corals. Their calices and those of the specimens from Ascension I. fit within the morphological range of F. gravida described by Laborel (1969) and by Amaral and Ramos (2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…It has not been reported in studies dealing with F. gravida in Brazil (Verrill 1901a, b;Laborel 1969;Amaral and Ramos 2007). F. gravida specimens from Brazil and St. Helena I. deposited in museum collections (RMNH, YPM) or illustrated in publications (e.g., Correia 2011) also do not represent this ecomorph, even though some of these corals were mentioned to have occurred in tide pools (Verrill 1901b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…1). In Brazil, the species occupies a large array of shallow-water habitats and shows much morphological variability by forming solid and dense attached colonies, which are encrusting or hemispherical with a strongly developed epitheca at their sides (Amaral and Ramos 2007). F. gravida resembles F. fragum (Esper, 1793), another species with an amphi-Atlantic range (Hoeksema et al in press).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies deal mostly with the dimensions and spacing of corallites, which appear to respond to light and sedimentation (Laborel 1969;Wijsman-Best 1974;Foster 1979Foster , 1980Budd 1993;Van Veghel and Bak 1993;Amaral 1994;Todd et al 2001Todd et al , 2004Amaral and Ramos 2007;Ow and Todd 2010;Chen et al 2011). This habitatinduced phenotypic variability has often hampered the recognition of species and also of monophyletic groups at higher taxonomic levels within the Faviidae (Fukami et al 2004;Huang et al 2009;Budd and Stolarski 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extreme morphological plasticity enables a free mode of life in Favia gravida at Ascension Island (South Atlantic)

Hoeksema

2012

Mar Biodiv

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Samples of free-living corals of Favia gravida (Scleractinia: Faviidae) have been studied. They were collected from an intertidal rock pool on Ascension Island, southern Atlantic Ocean. They consist of phaceloid clusters of corallites that appear to be able to easily break apart from each other by the formation of slits inbetween them, which indicates the occurrence of asexual reproduction by fragmentation. The base of the fragments is usually tapering or conical and covered by an epitheca. Small corallites on the base of some specimens suggest that the corals also reproduce by budding. By not depending on a solid substratum for reproduction, the corals appear to be utterly adapted to a free mode of life. These traits have not been reported before from Favia, which normally consists of massive corals. The variable shape of the corals at hand indicate that they have adopted a plastic free-living growth form that appears to be confined to a rock pool habitat.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extreme morphological plasticity enables a free mode of life in Favia gravida at Ascension Island (South Atlantic)

Hoeksema

2012

Mar Biodiv

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“…Boekschoten & Borel Best (1988) argue that the presence of dead Favia corals on Brazilian cobbles along Cape Verdian coastlines can be explained by their use as ballast in salt vessels from Brazil. They resemble F. gravida corals from the coast of West Africa and Brazilian waters (Laborel 1974, Amaral & Ramos 2007.…”

Section: Rafting Corals On Man-made Substratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trans-Atlantic rafting by the brooding reef coral Favia fragum on man-made flotsam

Hoeksema¹,

Roos²,

Cadée³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Specimens of the brooding reef coral Favia fragum were found on man-made flotsam stranded on the North Sea shore of the Netherlands. Based on the associated epifauna originating from the southeast USA, we estimate that the corals must have crossed the Atlantic Ocean, transported by the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Drift. The size of the corals suggests that they might have had enough time to cross the Atlantic alive and that they already reached the age of possible self-fertilization before they entered waters that were too cold to survive. The temperature requirements and the presently known geographic range of F. fragum are compared with Atlantic summer and winter isotherms and oceanic currents in order to project a hypothetical northernmost range boundary. With increasing pollution, man-made flotsam may become a progressively more common substrate for reef corals that depend on rafting for long-distance dis persal. Eventually, with warming seawater, floating debris may cause tropical marine species to expand their distribution ranges towards higher latitudes.KEY WORDS: Distribution range · Epifauna · Life history · Long-distance dispersal · Ocean currents · Temperature tolerance 445: 209-218, 2012 (Uneputty & Evans 1997, Willoughby et al. 1997, Derraik 2002, Thiel et al. 2003, Taffs & Cullen 2005, Gregory 2009, Ryan et al. 2009). Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog SerThe growth in man-made flotsam also causes an increase of buoyant substrate for benthic organisms, which has become most evident in areas where it used to be rare (Barnes 2002, Aliani & Molcard 2003. Fouling organisms are able to reach remote coastlines as long as their growing weight does not negatively affect the buoyancy of their substrate. Eventually, long-lasting flotsam can become responsible for the introduction of exotic species (Winston 1982, Winston et al. 1997, Barnes & Fraser 2003, Barnes & Milner 2005. When these exotic species appear to colonize new areas and become harmful to allochtonous species, it is important to know their origin and natural environment for their control.Recently, several specimens of the brooding amphiAtlantic reef coral Favia fragum (Esper, 1793), together with other fouling animals, were discovered on a gas cylinder that was beached on Texel, the Netherlands, (Fig. 1). Although the corals were dead, they were large enough to tell that they must have survived for a long time. So far, it has only been hypothesised that the wide distribution range of brooding organisms, and F. fragum in particular, may be caused by long-distance dispersal through rafting (Highsmith 1985, Goodbody-Gringley et al. 2010. Based on the species composition of the epifauna of the cylinder, the course of oceanic currents, the size and growth form of the corals, and information on the biogeography and life history of F. fragum, we reconstruct a scenario in order to explain how these reef corals were able to reach the temperate coastline of the Netherlands. MAT...

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Light-induced morphological plasticity in the scleractinian coral Goniastrea pectinata and its functional significance

Todd

2010

Coral Reefs

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Skeletal variability of the coral Favia gravida (Verrill, 1868) from Brazil

Cited by 8 publications

References 21 publications

Extreme morphological plasticity enables a free mode of life in Favia gravida at Ascension Island (South Atlantic)

Extreme morphological plasticity enables a free mode of life in Favia gravida at Ascension Island (South Atlantic)

Trans-Atlantic rafting by the brooding reef coral Favia fragum on man-made flotsam

Light-induced morphological plasticity in the scleractinian coral Goniastrea pectinata and its functional significance

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