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Heterotrophic plasticity and resilience in bleached corals

By Web Admin on 10/25/2006 | Keyword(s): Coral reef resources

This paper aims to understand the mechanisms responsible for differential success of various coral species after bleaching. The following species were examined: branching corals including Montipora capitata and Porites compressa, and the mounding coral Porites lobata. Results indicate that M. capitata was more resilient to bleaching as they were able to meet their daily metabolic energy requirements by increasing feeing rates and percent contribution of heterotrophically acquired carbon to daily animal respiration (CHAR). Therefore, high CHAR capabilities may be contributing to higher coral resilience to bleaching events. Frequent bleaching may also select for higher CHAR capabilities in the future. Authors: Andréa G. Grottoli, Lisa J. Rodrigues, James E. Palardy. Nature 440 : 1186-1189

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