Morphological Changes in Polyp Structure of Massive Coral Species in Clear and Turbid Waters

Pisapia, Chiara; Hennige, Sebastian; Haapkylä, Jessica; Matteucci, Ruggero; Smith, David J.

doi:10.5343/bms.2010.1086

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Observing the 'excess' in the variation of S. stellata colonies, Laborel (1967Laborel ( , 1969 offered an early suggestion about the occurrence of S. radians in Brazil, but he has not pursued this topic. Relatively recent genetic studies (Forsman 2003, Neves et al 2008 confirmed the occurrence of S. radians in Brazil and supported Vaughan (1919) and Laborel (1967Laborel ( , 1969 by considering S. stellata to be closely-related, yet distinct from the Caribbean congeners.…”

Section: Taxonomymentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Perhaps, this zone is affected by micro environmental characteristics as it is located closer to the substrate and is under continuous stress due to burial by sediment and competitive contact with surrounding organisms. Indeed, it is widely known that the environment has an important influence on the coral phenotype (Brakel 1977, Foster 1980, Todd et al 2001, Pisapia et al 2012. However, because of the absence of experimental analyses in this study, a few inferences about the influence of abiotic aspects can be done.…”

Section: Intracolonial Variationmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In contrast to the wide-ranging collections of S. stellata from Parcel Manuel Luiz in Maranhão state (Amaral et al 2007) to Rio de Janeiro (Laborel 1969/70), intentional collections of S. radians have been conducted sparsely in geographically restricted areas in Brazil, such as Maragogi in Alagoas state, São José da Coroa Grande and Porto de Galinhas in Pernambuco state, Picãozinho and Ponta do Seixas in Paraíba state, Pirangi do Norte in Rio Grande do Norte state and Nova Almeida in Espírito Santo state (Neves et al 2008). Thus, this study is the first to include both species, and extends the geographical range of S. radians to the BTS and NS.…”

Section: Taxonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consistent differences in the patterns of reproduction have successfully distinguished the broadcast spawner S. siderea from the brooders S. radians and S. stellata (Szmant 1986, Neves & Da Silveira 2003. Genetic structure, in turn, has been reported to differentiate S. radians form S. stellata (Neves et al 2008). However, morphological differences between these species are still not well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Werner (1996), for instance, S. stellata should be regarded as a synonym of S. radians. However, through genetic and biological analyses, Neves & Da Silveira (2003), Neves (2004) and Neves et al (2008) have refuted all synonymies, revealing the sympatric occurrence of S. radians and S. stellata populations in Brazil. Thus, the traditional view of the 'excess of morphological variation' for Southwestern Atlantic Siderastrea has possibly been attributed to the co-occurrence of both congeners and not exclusively S. stellata.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intracolonial variation in Siderastrea de Blainville, 1830 (Anthozoa, Scleractinia): taxonomy under challenging morphological constraints

et al. 2013

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The morphology of sessile invertebrates, such as scleractinian corals, can be controlled by environmental and genetic mechanisms and, consequently, it is highly variable. Morphological variation has puzzled taxonomists by posing challenges to species classification within cryptic species complexes. The 'Atlantic Siderastrea Complex' is a suitable example. Because of overlapping diagnostic traits, the morphological interspecific limits of this group remain controversial and often resulted in doubtful synonyms. In addition, the recent identification of the Caribbean S. radians in the Southwestern Atlantic has revealed that intraspecific variation has been equivocally assessed. Traditionally, hierarchical categories of variation have been the criteria used to investigate the patterns of modular organisms as corals. However, despite its taxonomic and ecological implications, the category 'intracolonial' has been largely neglected. To evaluate the influences of intracolonial morphological variation in the identification of Atlantic siderastreids, colonies from Bahia State, northeastern Brazil, were collected and measured. Six characters were selected in S. radians and S. stellata, and the variation in these characters was analyzed with Discriminant Canonical Analysis. The columellar depth and diameter varied consistently within S. stellata and S. radians, but the septal number was the most important for differentiating the two species. The results of the study also represent the first report of S. radians on the northern coast of Bahia.

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Section: Taxonomymentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Intracolonial Variationmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Taxonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Intracolonial variation in Siderastrea de Blainville, 1830 (Anthozoa, Scleractinia): taxonomy under challenging morphological constraints

et al. 2013

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Developing best practices for the restoration of massive corals and the mitigation of predation impacts: influences of physical protection, colony size, and genotype on outplant mortality

et al. 2021

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Phenotypic variability of Montastraea cavernosa and Porites astreoides along a depth gradient from shallow to mesophotic reefs in the Cayman Islands

Doherty,

Chequer,

Mass

et al. 2024

Coral Reefs

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Phenotypic variability is the ability of the same species to express different phenotypes under different environmental conditions. Several coral species that exist along a broad depth distribution have been shown to differ in skeletal morphology and nutrient acquisition at different depths, which has been attributed to variability in response to differing levels of light availability. This study examined the phenotypic variability of two common depth generalist corals, Montastraea cavernosa and Porites astreoides, along a gradient from 10 to 50 m in the Cayman Islands, by examining changes in skeletal morphology, photophysiology, symbiont cell density, and chlorophyll concentration. Skeletal features of M. cavernosa were found to increase in size from 10 to 30 m, but returned to smaller sizes from 30 to 50 m, while P. astreoides skeletal features continued to increase in size from 10 to 40 m. No differences were observed in either symbiont density or chlorophyll concentration across depths for either species. However, all photophysiological parameters exhibited significant depth-dependent variations in both species, revealing adaptive strategies to different light environments. These results suggest that both species have high variability in response to depth. Patterns of skeletal morphology and photophysiology, however, suggest that M. cavernosa may be more variable in regulating photosynthetic efficiency compared to P. astreoides, which likely facilitates the broader depth distribution of this species.

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Morphological Changes in Polyp Structure of Massive Coral Species in Clear and Turbid Waters

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Intracolonial variation in Siderastrea de Blainville, 1830 (Anthozoa, Scleractinia): taxonomy under challenging morphological constraints

Intracolonial variation in Siderastrea de Blainville, 1830 (Anthozoa, Scleractinia): taxonomy under challenging morphological constraints

Developing best practices for the restoration of massive corals and the mitigation of predation impacts: influences of physical protection, colony size, and genotype on outplant mortality

Phenotypic variability of Montastraea cavernosa and Porites astreoides along a depth gradient from shallow to mesophotic reefs in the Cayman Islands

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