Environmental implications of skeletal micro-density and porosity variation in two scleractinian corals

Data di pubblicazione: 31 Ott 2011

RivistaFonte dati: ARCHIVIO

The correlations between skeletal parameters (bulk density, micro-density and porosity), coral age and sea surface temperature were assessed along a latitudinal gradient in the zooxanthellate coral Balanophyllia europaea and in the azooxanthellate coral Leptopsammia pruvoti. In both coral species, the variation of bulk density was more influenced by the variation of porosity than of micro-density. With increasing polyp age, B. europaea formed denser and less porous skeletons while L. pruvoti showed the opposite trend, becoming less dense and more porous. B. europaea skeletons were generally less porous (more dense) than those of L. pruvoti, probably as a consequence of the different habitats colonized by the two species. Increasing temperature had a negative impact on the zooxanthellate species, leading to an increase of porosity. In contrast, micro-density increased with temperature in the …

Editore
Urban & Fischer
Fonte
Zoology
ID archivio
2a0434e862f9a045b52b7d9fcf784c4c
Riferimenti
Volume: 114 Issue: 5 Pages: 255-264