Brief description
The rates of sexual and asexual recruitment were quantified over 3.5 years, in addition to the rates of growth, injury and survival of the different sizes and stages of polyps of Fungia fungites at Mainland and East Lewis reef in the Dampier Archipelago (see large thumbnail). From this data, the rates of transition of polyps through their life cycle (vital rates) were obtained and incorporated into simple stage-structured matrix models that estimated the growth rates of the populations, their likelihood of approaching stability, and the relative importance of different polyp stages to population maintenance.Lineage
Maintenance and Update Frequency: notPlanned
Statement: - Study sites -
Study sites are located approximately 5 km apart in the Dampier Archipelago on the north-west coast of Western Australia (see large thumbnail).
The Mainland reef is exposed to the usual direction of wind and waves produced by seasonal storms and cyclones, and experiences very high levels of chronic and acute sedimentation and high water temperatures. During this study there were six cyclones that affected the Dampier Archipelago by increasing wave energy and elevating levels of suspended sediments. However, Cyclone Vance (Year 3) was by far the most significant of all the cyclones and physically altered parts of the substrata at the Mainland reef. The East Lewis reef is sheltered on the leeward side of an island, and had levels of sedimentation that were between three and five times less than at the Mainland reef. Chapter 3 of the thesis provides a more detailed description of the reefs and their exposure to disturbance during this study.
- Experimental procedure -
This study was conducted between July 1997 and October 2000. Eight permanent quadrats were established at the Mainland (1 m2) and East Lewis (4 m2) reefs, at intervals of 25 m along a permanent transect (as per Chapter 3 of thesis). Tags (5 mm) were attached to polyps from all life history stages and to the substrata or parent polyps if sexual and asexual recruits were less than 1 cm diameter. Additional polyps were tagged periodically throughout the study when numbers decreased following disturbances or when new recruits entered the quadrats (see Appendix 1 of the thesis for the numbers of tagged polyps). The location of polyps within or beside their plots was recorded, and the linear distance moved between censuses standardised to cm month-1. The estimated error in mapping the location of polyps was approximately 8 cm (+- 3 SD, n = 50 trials).
Polyps were filmed and then traced using video analysis software. Growth was quantified as the change in maximum diameter of live tissue, and standardised to cm month-1. Diameter was used because it is less dependent on initial size than other measures (perimeter, area) and has been used in the majority of studies of fungiids (see Chadwick-Furman et al. 2000). Additional descriptive data, such as the incidence of bleaching, were also collected.
Notes
CreditAustralian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
Credit
Hamersley Iron
Hamersley Iron
Credit
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi
Credit
The University of Western Australia (UWA)
The University of Western Australia (UWA)
Issued: 22 08 2007
Data time period: 1997-07 to 2000-10
text: westlimit=116.66; southlimit=-20.67; eastlimit=116.72; northlimit=-20.60
text: uplimit=7; downlimit=3
Subjects
11 298022 |
Biosphere | Ecological Dynamics | Life History |
Biosphere | Zoology | Corals |
Cyclone |
Disturbance |
EARTH SCIENCE |
Fungia fungites |
MARINE SEDIMENTS |
OCEANS |
Sedimentation |
oceans |
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Other Information
(PhD thesis)
Identifiers
- global : 862eab80-5055-11dc-bc04-00188b4c0af8
