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Orange Cup Coral Tubastraea coccinea invades Florida and the Flower Garden Banks, Northwestern Gulf of Mexico

DOI: 10.1007/s00338-004-0422-x
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Douglas Fenner at consultant
Douglas Fenner
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Kenneth Banks at Nova Southeastern University
Kenneth Banks
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Douglas Fenner ÆKenneth Banks
Orange Cup Coral
Tubastraea coccinea
invades Florida
and the Flower Garden Banks, Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
Received: 13 May 2003 / Accepted: 3 January 2004 / Published online: 16 September 2004
ÓSpringer-Verlag 2004
Keywords Invasion ÆFlorida ÆCurrents ÆTubastraea Æ
Wreck ÆDiadema ÆFlower Garden Banks
Introduction
The azooxanthellate scleractinian coral Tubastraea coc-
cinea has recently been reported to have invaded the
Gulf of Mexico (Fenner 2001) and Brazil (Castro and
Pires 2001; Ferreira 2003; Figueira de Paula and Creed
2004). It may have been spreading in the Caribbean
since it was reported there by Vaughan and Wells (1943),
based on material from Curac¸ ao and Puerto Rico, and
may even have been introduced into the Caribbean from
the Pacific (Cairns 2000; Humann and DeLoach 2002,
p. 164). No Caribbean fossils of this species are known
(Cairns 1999). Most Caribbean reef building corals
(88%) were described before T. coccinea was reported
from the Caribbean in 1943, with the median date of
description being 116 years earlier. All other genera had
been found in the Caribbean before Tubastraea, the last
having been found 75 years before Tubastraea was
found. The type locality of T. coccinea is Bora Bora,
date 1829. Its range includes most or all of the tropical
Indo-Pacific (Cairns 2000). Alternatively, it may have
come from the Cape Verde Islands or Gulf of Guinea in
the eastern Atlantic, where it is also known (Laborel
1974; Cairns 2000). It has not been reported from
Florida (Wheaton and Jaap 1988; Jaap and Hallock
1990; Cairns 2000; Fenner 2001; Dawson 2002; see also
http://floridakeys.nos.noaa.gov/sanctuary_resources/
specieslist.pdf), and in the Gulf of Mexico it has only
been reported from oil platforms (Fenner 2001). It is
reported here for the first time in Florida and the Flower
Garden Banks of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.
Results and discussion
T. coccinea was first observed on October 20, 2001 by
one of us (KB) on the steel tugboat ‘‘Donal G. McAll-
ister,’’ which was placed as an artificial reef at 21-m
depth about 2.2 km offshore from Hollywood, Florida.
A single orange-red colony, about 6-cm diameter was
observed on April 18, 2002, growing on the outside of
the cabin facing south at 16-m depth. Subsequently,
numerous colonies were discovered on 12 other sites in
southern Florida: nine other ships, one set of oil rig
jackets, a floating dock, and a limestone boulder reef
(Table 1). Many colonies were on the hulls of the ships,
in shaded areas. The coral was abundant on all four
wrecks that were examined for abundance: RSB-1,
Tenneco, Jay Scutti, and Capt. Dan (colonies were not
counted). The only non-shipwreck or dock sighting of
T. coccinea was a single colony on limestone boulders
(Port of Miami Mitigation Reef, Tim Mcintosh, per-
sonal communication). These boulders came from
upland quarries so the coral colony must have recruited
recently. The largest colonies observed on the artificial
reefs were about 6-cm diameter. A colony that was
collected was identified by Steven Cairns as T. coccinea.
The date at which T. coccinea first settled on these
structures has not been determined. Although growth
rates have not been reported in this species, aquarium
observations suggest they may reach a diameter of 5 cm
in about one year, and growth may slow in adults as
energy is put into reproduction with maximum sizes
reached of about 10–15-cm diameter (Julian Sprung and
Daniela Stettler, personal communication). The oil rig
Communicated by: Ecological Editor P. F. Sale
D. Fenner (&)
Australian Institute of Marine Sciences,
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
E-mail: dfenner@blueskynet.as
Tel.: +1-684-6334456
Present address: Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources,
PO Box 3730, Pago Pago, AS 96799, USA
K. Banks
Broward County Dept. of Planning and Environmental Protection,
218 SW 1st Ave, Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33301, USA
Coral Reefs (2004) 23: 505–507
DOI 10.1007/s00338-004-0422-x
jackets were transported to Florida on barges, making
the survival of any T. coccinea previously living on them
unlikely though perhaps not impossible (if parts were
immersed in water in the barge hull). Colonies on the
hulls of ships could have arrived with the ships.
Surprisingly, no colonies have been found on the first
artificial reef, the Mercedes, sunk in March 1985.
T. coccinea was first observed on the wreck of the
Duane off Key Largo by J. Sprung about 1999. Colo-
nies’ Were already numerous on it at that time. Colonies
about 5–10 cm diameter are now common on vertical
surfaces. This 100-m long steel ship’ W’ Which was sunk
in 1987, sits in water about 36-m deep with its top deck
at about 30-m depth. The Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary (FKNMS) website page (http://florida-
keys.nos.noaa.gov/sanctuary_resources/shipwreck_trail/
duane.html), last updated January 1, 2000, lists ‘‘Cup
Coral’’ (T. coccinea) as being on the Duane. The
FKNMS website also reports Cup Coral on another
wreck, the Amesbury (http://floridakeys.nos.noaa.gov/
sanctuary_resources/shipwreck_trail/amesbury.html,
last updated January 1, 2000). The Amesbury is located
8 km west of Key West in 8 m of water. J. Sprung also
observed one colony of about the same size on the
underside of a floating dock next to the seawall inside
Palm Beach Inlet.
T. coccinea was observed on the East Flower Garden
Bank of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico by H. Ly-
dersen-Bulman on August 28, 2002. A single colony
about 15-cm diameter was photographed at about 26-m
depth. T. coccinea was also observed on natural reef
ledges at about 10-m depth at Fowl Cay Preserve
(26°38.229 N 77°02.310 W) north of Man of War Cay,
Abaco, Bahamas, by KB in August of 2000, and abun-
dant colonies were found in caverns off the north end of
Guana Cay, Abaco (26°42.22 N 77°09.17 W) in 2003.
T. coccinea has now been reported to have invaded
the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and Florida. This is consis-
tent with the proposal that it has been expanding its
range in the Caribbean, and was originally introduced
into the Caribbean from the Indo-Pacific (Cairns 2000)
or perhaps the eastern Atlantic. It has been observed on
boat hulls in the Caribbean, where transport on boats
was suggested as a mode of dispersal (Cairns 2000), and
observed on ships in Brazil (Ferreira 2003, Ferreira et al.
2004). The dispersal route into the Gulf of Mexico was
not identified, though most likely it reached airplane
wrecks in the Caribbean by larval dispersal (Fenner
2001). It was first seen in the southeastern Gulf of
Mexico in 1977, western Gulf in 1985, Texas in the
northwestern Gulf in 1991, and Louisiana in the
northern Gulf in 1994, so larvae may have drifted with
currents clockwise along the continental shelf in the Gulf
of Mexico (Fig. 1). The relatively recent invasion of
Florida by T. coccinea could have occurred by transport
on the hulls of one or more of the ship wrecks it now
grows on, or it could have arrived as larvae on currents
from the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean. The maps of
Roberts (1997) show that larvae could have reached
Florida from western Cuba in 1 month, and from
Cozumel in 2 months. Dispersal to Brazil was by mobile
oil drilling platforms (Castro and Pires 2001; Ferreira
2003; Figueira de Paula and Creed 2004). Mobile plat-
forms could also have contributed to dispersal to the
Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms, but that appears
Table 1 Florida Artificial Reefs
with Tubastrea coccinea Name Type Depth Location Date deployed
Donal G McAllister Tug 21 m 26°00.548’ N, 80°05.650’ W 6/23/98
Princess Anne Ship 27 m 26°47.608’ N, 80°00.260’ W 5/23/93
Tenneco Towers Oil rig jackets 32 m 25°58.952’ N, 80°05.100’ W 10/3/85
Tortuga Ship 33 m 25°49.252’ N, 80°05.087’ W 4/95
Rodeo 25 Ship 37 m 26°13.878’ N, 80°03.813’ W 5/12/90
Jay Scutti Tug 20 m 26°09.520’ N, 80°04.760’ W 9/19/86
RSB-1 Ship 35 m 26°13.642’ N, 80°03.896’ W 4/94
Capt. Dan Ship 33 m 26°13.857’ N, 80°03.960’ W 2/20/90
Ancient Mariner Ship 21 m 26°18.117’ N, 80°03.745’ W 6/91
Duane Ship 36 m 24°59.388’ N, 80°22.888’ W 11/28/87
Amesbury Ship 8 m 24°37.391’ N, 81°58.912’ W About 1962
Palm Beach Inlet Floating dock 1 m 26°47.610’ N, 80°02.690’ W NA
Port of Miami
Mitigation Reef
Limestone boulders 11 m 25°44.894’ N, 80°05.683’ W 5/96
Fig. 1 Possible routes of the spread of Tubastraea coccinea in the
Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Florida. Year of the earliest report
in different areas is shown, along with possible routes of spread,
based on dates and current paths. Small arrows present the
generalized current paths in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico,
and Florida. Current paths taken from the Ocean Currents web
site (http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/caribbean/caribbean-
cs.html), Roberts 1997, and Gittings et al. 1992
506
less likely in Florida. A second species in the genus,
Tubastraea taguensis , has recently been reported to have
invaded Brazil as well, and is easily distinguished in the
field by its yellow color (Figueira de Paula and Creed
2004). In Brazil, both species of Tubastraea have in-
vaded reefs, while in Florida only T. coccinea has been
found. One colony has now been found on the East
Flower Garden Bank, so it is now invading the Flower
Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, most likely
from nearby oil and gas platforms. Since it has been in
the western and southern Gulf longer than in the
northern Gulf, it is likely that it is already on reefs in the
southern and western Gulf. It has now been found on a
limestone boulder artificial reef in southeast Florida, so
it is likely that it will soon be found on reefs in Florida,
and reach Bermuda. Artificial structures are clearly
preferred habitat, since in each area they are found first
on artificial structures, and are prolific on some artificial
structures in the Caribbean, Gulf, and Florida. There
are no reports yet of the ecological effects of these
invaders.
The pattern of the spread of T. coccinea in the Wes-
tern Atlantic is very similar to the pattern of spread of
the die-off of the urchin Diadema antillarum in 1983–
1984. The urchin die-off began in Caribbean Panama,
and spread rapidly with the currents to the north and
into the Gulf of Mexico and to Florida. The die-off also
moved eastward from Panama and Florida to the east-
ern Caribbean. Lessios et al. (1984) reported that it was
carried eastward by an eastward-flowing current along
the northern shore of South America. Roberts (1997)
reports that there are weak nearshore counter currents
along most coastlines in the Caribbean. The die-off
spread throughout the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and
to Florida and Bermuda all within 1 year (Lessios et al.
1984; Lessios 1988). In contrast, T. coccinea has required
about 60 years to spread throughout the Caribbean and
Gulf and reach Florida. Presumably this is because the
time between infection of the urchins by the microbe and
the subsequent release of large numbers of new microbes
was probably only a few days (Bauer and Agerfer 1987),
while the time from the settling of T. coccinea larvae
until colonies can release larvae is probably a few years.
Observations in aquaria suggest that larval release
begins at about 18 months age (D. Stettler, personal
communication). If T. coccinea requires about 18
months to begin releasing larvae, and it took 60 times as
long for it to spread across the Western Atlantic as the
urchin die-off, dividing 18 months by 60 might give an
estimate of the time required for the microbe to be re-
leased from infected urchins. The resulting 9 days ap-
pears to at least be the right order of magnitude, which is
consistent with the view that the time to release propa-
gules is a controlling factor in the rate of spread.
Transportation on boat hulls has the potential to have
spread the coral through this area in much less than
60 years, and would likely produce a pattern that would
follow shipping routes instead of current paths. The first
known locations were Puerto Rico and Curacao. Dis-
persal by current from one of these to the other appears
unlikely. However, Puerto Rico was a major coaling
station and shipping port. T. coccinea might have been
brought there first by a ship and carried on to Curac¸ ao
before subsequent dispersal by currents.
Acknowledgements We would like to thank Pamela Fletcher, Keith
Mille, Tim McIntosh, Janet Phipps, Rhett Butler, Julian Sprung,
and Tim Mcintosh for observations of T. coccinea in Florida, and
Emma Hickerson for observations of T. coccinea discovered by
Heidi Lydersen-Bulman on the East Flower Garden Bank. We
thank Rhett Butler for collecting the coral sample, and Daniela
Stettler for aquarium observations.
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507
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Full-text available
  • Apr 2022
Tubastraea coccinea is an invasive coral that has had ecological, economic, and social impacts in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Tubastraea coccinea is considered a major threat to marine biodiversity, whose occurrence in its non-native range has been associated with artificial structures such as oil/gas platforms and shipwrecks. A recent species distribution model identified important determinants of T. coccinea invasion in the northern GoM and projected its potential range expansion. However, the potential effects of anthropogenic factors were not considered. We used boosted regression trees to develop a species distribution model investigating the importance of oil/gas platforms and shipping fairways as determinants of T. coccinea invasion in the northern GoM. Our results indicate that maximum salinity, distance to platform, minimum nitrate, and mean pH were the first to fourth most influential variables, contributing 31.9%, 23.5%, 22.8%, and 21.8%, respectively, to the model. These findings highlight the importance of considering the effects of anthropogenic factors such as oil/gas platforms as potential determinants of range expansion by invasive corals. Such consideration is imperative when installing new platforms and when decommissioning retired platforms.
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Adaptacin-basada-en-ecosistemas-alternativa-en-los-ecosistemas-marinos-y-costeros
Book
Full-text available
  • May 2017
Los ecosistemas marinos y costeros del Caribe garantizan la mayor parte de las actividades socioeconómicas que sostienen a más de 43 millones de personas. Esta región es altamente vulnerable a los impactos potenciales del cambio climático, principalmente los producidos por el incremento del nivel del mar y los efectos de eventos meteorológicos extremos como huracanes, fuertes lluvias o sequías intensas, y se encuentra también afectada por los cambios de hábitat, invasiones biológicas, sobreexplotación de los recursos marinos y costeros y la contaminación, que son presiones que ejerce el desarrollo descontrolado en las zonas marinas y costeras, cuyos efectos continuarán amplificándose por los impactos del cambio climático en la región. Para evitar la magnificación de los impactos asociados al cambio climático sobre los ecosistemas marinos y costeros y por tanto sobre el beneficio que recibe la sociedad caribeña de los servicios ecosistémicos que estos proveen, resulta imprescindible disminuir las presiones que el hombre ejerce sobre los ecosistemas fomentando para ello su resiliencia. La integración en planes de adaptación de las estrategias de conservación, rehabilitación ecológica y gestión sostenible a nivel local, nacional y regional deberá promoverse destacando el papel de los ecosistemas para la adaptación y mitigación al cambio climático, encaminando en una sola vía los vínculos entre diversidad biológica, cambio climático, reducción de desastres y desarrollo sostenible, lo que ha sido ampliamente reconocido como una necesidad a nivel mundial. La Adaptación basada en Ecosistemas (AbE) es una propuesta para construir resiliencia y reducir la vulnerabilidad de las comunidades al cambio climático, integrando justamente el uso sostenible de la biodiversidad y de los servicios ecosistémicos en una estrategia para ayudar a las personas a adaptarse al cambio climático considerando como puntos de partida tanto el conocimiento científico como el conocimiento comunitario local. La AbE propone que los ecosistemas pueden ser manejados para limitar los impactos del cambio implementando enfoques basados en el ecosistema para la adaptación que incluyan la gestión sostenible, la conservación y la rehabilitación de ecosistemas teniendo en cuenta los múltiples beneficios sociales, económicos y culturales para la sociedad. Para la implementación de la AbE en el Caribe resulta esencial prestar atención a temas como el incremento de la resiliencia a partir de la rehabilitación ecológica de arrecifes coralinos, manglares y playas, entre otros ecosistemas relevantes en esta región por su función como protectores de la costa, de la degradación de los suelos agrícolas y de la calidad del agua por la intrusión salina; al estudio, control y manejo de las invasiones biológicas y de nuevas y crecientes amenazas a estos ecosistemas posiblemente asociadas al cambio climático como las arribazones de sargazos a las costas caribeñas; y a la definición de mejoras en las herramientas esenciales para el manejo y gestión de la zona marina y costera como el planeamiento espacial marino, la elaboración de estrategias locales de adaptación, la evaluación de la vulnerabilidad ecológica y la evaluación de la salud de los ecosistemas, compartiendo experiencias a través de redes de intercambio como las redes CYTED. La profundización en estos temas contribuirá a la implementación de la AbE con una mirada hacia la naturaleza incluyendo al hombre, como una especie componente esencial del ecosistema, capaz de revertir la situación ambiental actual promoviendo la integración de voluntades, como una alternativa de convivencia entre el cambio climático y el bienestar socioeconómico para el desarrollo sostenible en la región caribeña
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Les inventaires taxonomiques de la biodiversité des invertébrés macroscopiques marins : des outils pour la connaissance et la gestion de la protection de la biodiversité marine (exemples en Martinique)
Thesis
  • Dec 2019
Les travaux menés dans cette thèse explorent les différents apports possibles des inventaires taxonomiques d’invertébrés macroscopiques marins, qu’ils s’intéressent à un groupe taxonomique particulier ou à la biodiversité d’espèces dans un habitat, afin d’apporter de la connaissance mais aussi pour répondre à des problématiques de gestion telles que : Quelle espèce protéger ? Quel habitat protéger ? Quelle espèce exotique envahissante éradiquer ?Le premier axe de ces travaux s’intéresse à l’inventaire d’espèces par groupe taxonomique et à l’inventaire multitaxon pour une zone afin d’en évaluer la biodiversité. Dans une première partie, deux des inventaires taxonomiques sont centrés sur des groupes taxonomiques, ils sont réalisés en collaboration avec des spécialistes, ils concernent : l’inventaire taxonomique des hydraires et celui des gorgones. La seconde partie utilise des inventaires simplifiés, s’intéressant à la majorité des taxons, mais centré sur des zones spécifiques afin d’en évaluer la biodiversité : Une étude concerne les parties marines qui sont à proximité des mangroves, et la seconde étude à la caye Grande Sèche au cœur la baie de Fort-de-France. Dans une troisième partie, les inventaires de la biodiversité d’espèces sont mis à profit pour mettre à jour la typologie des habitats marins benthiques, à partir de données collectées lors de l’expédition Madibenthos (MNHN) et notamment de photographies prises par les participants. Et enfin, dans une dernière partie les inventaires multitaxons réalisés à l’échelle de la Martinique sont mis à profit pour évaluer quelles sont les espèces d’invertébrés rares en Martinique qui peuvent être candidate à une protection ou au statut d’espèce déterminante pour l’établissement de ZNIEFF.Le second axe de ces travaux s’intéresse à l’inventaire d’espèces protégées d’invertébrés macroscopiques, notamment les coraux, dont l’état des populations est préoccupant, ceci en vue de cartographier leur répartition et d’évaluer des sources des pressions et menaces constatées. Dans un premier temps, il est indiqué la mise au point d’une méthode qui a permis de cartographier une espèce de corail protégée de petite taille, Oculina diffusa. L’étude montre que l’habitat de cette espèce est très spécifique et qu’elle subit de nombreuses pressions. Dans un second temps, une méthode utilisant différentes techniques de télédétection et d’inventaire in situ a été mise au point pour cartographier la répartition d’espèces de coraux de grande taille (Orbicella favelolata, O. annularis, O. franksii) sur une caye. Enfin, dans un troisième temps, les résultats d’inventaires multitaxon ont permis de caractériser la rareté ou la faible abondance de certaines espèces de coraux en Martinique, résultats qui ont œuvré pour la protection des coraux.Le troisième axe s’intéresse à l’inventaire des espèces non-indigènes et d’espèces exotiques envahissantes d’invertébrés macroscopiques en vue de cartographier leur répartition et d’évaluer leurs impacts sur les espèces autochtones et leurs habitats. L’étude présente trois espèces non indigènes dont le statut est attesté pour certaines en tant qu’espèce exotique envahissante ou est en cours d’évaluation pour d’autre. La première espèce présentée, étudiée en 2015, est un crabe invasif Charybdis hellerii. L’étude de cette espèce a permis de signaler sa présence pour la première fois dans les Petites Antilles. L’étude biométrique des populations et du sex-ratio, a permis de caractériser la population. Une étude de l’habitat occupé permet de mieux étudier son impact et mieux cibler les habitats à surveiller. La seconde espèce est une d’ophiure non-indigène, Ophiothela mirabilis, étudiée en 2017 sur la côte atlantique de la Martinique.
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Mass Mortality Of Diadema-Antillarum In The Caribbean: What Have We Learned
Article
Full-text available
Diadema antillarum is a large, mobile sea urchin which until 1983 was ubiquitous on Caribbean coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove roots and sand habitats. In January 1983, specimens at Punta Galeta, Panama, began to show symptoms of ill health; over the next 13 months similar symptoms and massive deaths were found in many other parts of the species' range. The mortality front advanced E to Tobago, taking c1 yr to cover 2000 km. At the same time, mass mortality was spreading at a faster rate W to Costa Rica and N to the Cayman Islands, Belize, Mexico and Jamaica. Mortality advanced into the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the Flower Garden Banks off Texas before August 1984. It moved to Florida, and thence to Bermuda. A minimum of 93% (mean 98%) of Diadema at each location perished. Although a waterborne, host-specific pathogen is implication, its nature remains unknown. Subsequent recruitment and population recovery is traced, and effects on genetic structure and community structure are examined. -P.J.Jarvis
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Two species of the coral Tubastraea (Cnidaria, Scleractinia) in Brazil: A case of accidental introduction
Article
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Although scleractinian corals have been described for the Brazilian coast and despite the fact that the genus Tubastraea Lesson 1829 (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae) is a very common ahermatypic azooxanthellate coral with a wide geographical distribution in the world, it has not, until recently, been reported from Brazil. Therefore, this coral is interpreted as a non-indigenous genus to the south Atlantic, probably arriving in Brazil in the late 1980s. The present study re-describes and compares two species of the genus, Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, 1829 and Tubastraea tagusensis Wells, 1982 from the rocky shores of Ilha Grande Bay, Angra dos Reis, Brazil. These corals are found on protected, shallow-water rocky shores. Of the six species of genus Tubastraea that are known, T. coccinea is the most common species in tropical regions, while T. tagusensis was previously known only from the Galápagos archipelago. Ilha Grande Bay is a site with shipping traffic (ships and oil platforms), which probably brought these corals to the region. Results of this study expand the reported distribution of this genus in the world.
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Biogeography of three Caribbean corals (Scleractinia) and the invasion of Tubastraea coccinea into the Gulf of Mexico
Article
Full-text available
Tubastraea coccinea and Mycetophyllia reesi were found to have ranges that extend throughout the Caribbean, as do most zooxanthellate scleractinian corals found there. Leptoseris cailleti has not yet been found in some areas, but is a rarely reported coral. T. coccinea has not previously been reported from the Gulf of Mexico, but is now known from seven oil platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast, first being sighted in 1991. It has also been seen on four oil platforms in Louisiana, and it is known from oil platforms in the Southern Gulf of Mexico off Campeche and the western Gulf of Mexico off of Tuxpan, Mexico where it was first seen about 1977. Since it is not known from the Gulf of Mexico other than on oil platforms, this represents a rapid range expansion following oil platform placements. The range expansion into the Gulf of Mexico is likely due to a preference of this species for artificial substrates, which may be rapidly colonized.
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Mass spawning and reproductive viability of reef corals at the East Flower Garden Bank, northwest Gulf of Mexico
Article
Full-text available
Mass spawning of three coral species that broadcast eggs and sperm into the water column (Diploria strigosa, Montastrea annularis, M. cavernosa) was observed on 1 September 1991. Peak activity occurred after 2115, eight evenings following the August full moon. Minor spawning activity was noted on two occasions just prior to sunset, and on the day following mass spawning, as well as seven days following the July full moon. The Flower Garden Banks harbor fully functional coral communities capable of self-seeding following disturbance and of supplying viable larvae for colonization of natural and artificial substrates. -from Authors
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Revision of the Sub-orders, Families and Genera of the Scleractinia
Article
This revision is the result of a study of the genotype species, mostly of type or topotype specimens, of nearly every described scleractinian genus. The classification proposed rests primarily on the structure of the septa, but other skeletal structures as well as the soft parts are utilized and considered. The order Scleractinia is divided into five suborders: Astrocoeniida, Fungiida, Faviida, Caryophylliida, and Dendrophylliida. The first is quite distinct from the others and includes corals with septa composed of relatively few trabeculae. The other four include corals in which the septa consist of a relatively large number of trabeculae. The Fungiida is marked by the fundamentally fenestrate arrangement of the trabeculae, whereas the arrangement is laminar in the Faviida, Caryophylliida, and Dendrophylliida. In the Faviida the septal margins are dentate; in the Caryophylliida they are smooth; and in the Dendrophylliida some septa may become secondarily lacerate or dentate. The subdivision of the suborders into lesser categories is based upon the modification of septal structure and other skeletal elements, mode of colony - formation, form of the corallum, and phylogeny of the groups. The systematic classification is prefaced by an historical résumé of previous investigations of the Scleractinia and a brief discussion of the anatomy and morphology of the polyps and skeletal structures. The several different modes of sexual and asexual reproduction and increase are carefully analyzed because of their relation to growth form and from this is developed a discussion of morphogenesis of the corallum. Considerable attention is paid to the ecology of recent corals—much is known concerning the reef-building forms, but certain aspects of the ecology of the ahermatypic or non-reef-builders are here extensively considered for the first time. The distribution of fossil and recent scleractinian faunas is broadly analyzed and some suggestions concerning the evolution of the order are made. A classified list of over a thousand titles dealing with all aspects of the Scleractinia and fifty-one plates illustrating nearly three-fourths of the approximately 500 genera recognized conclude the work.
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Biogeography of azooxanthellate corals in the Caribbean and surrounding areas
Article
  • Apr 2002
Biogeographic patterns for azooxanthellate corals are not as well known as those of zooxanthellate (primarily reef-building) corals. I analyzed occurrences of 129 species of azooxanthellate corals in 19 geopolitical regions in the Caribbean and surrounding areas. I performed an unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis using Bray-Curtis' similarity measure on the complete data set and shallow- and deep-water subsets of the data. The results indicate two provinces, each with a widespread (tropical and subtropical distributions) component to its fauna. One province has a tropical and primarily insular component to it, while the other has a subtropical and primarily continental component. By contrast, zooxanthellate corals have a uniform faunal composition throughout the Caribbean. Moreover, zooxanthellate corals have half as many species in the Caribbean as the azooxanthellate corals even though their global diversities are equal. These differences in diversity and geographic distribution patterns should be considered when developing conservation strategies.
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