Excellent article this month
- Thread starter teevee
- Start date
Hi Ron
I also liked it, but there are some questions I would like to ask you
First
If its true that the Acropora and some other corals are more "weedy" I think some species of the more slower, long-lived , "more effective" competitors are almost out of the game by now right? (I mean at the edge of extinction)?
How long does it take for a community dominated by acropora to be displaced by the othe corals?
With every storm/hurricane etc we should be watching more and more "weedy" reefs right? Is this true? I mean are these the kind of reefs we have?
Is there any evidence that the "older" Acropora communities have a tendency to produce more allelophatic susbtances? Im asking this because if the corals that do so are "more effective" in competition, should this tendency be followed by those that are becoming "dominant"?
regards
I also liked it, but there are some questions I would like to ask you
First
If its true that the Acropora and some other corals are more "weedy" I think some species of the more slower, long-lived , "more effective" competitors are almost out of the game by now right? (I mean at the edge of extinction)?
How long does it take for a community dominated by acropora to be displaced by the othe corals?
With every storm/hurricane etc we should be watching more and more "weedy" reefs right? Is this true? I mean are these the kind of reefs we have?
Is there any evidence that the "older" Acropora communities have a tendency to produce more allelophatic susbtances? Im asking this because if the corals that do so are "more effective" in competition, should this tendency be followed by those that are becoming "dominant"?
regards
Last edited:
Hi,
If its true that the Acropora and some other corals are more "weedy" I think some species of the more slower, long-lived , "more effective" competitors are almost out of the game by now right? (I mean at the edge of extinction)?
Generally the longer-lived species are in different habitats, they generally live in deeper water. The "weedy" Acropora are generally in shallower water.
How long does it take for a community dominated by acropora to be displaced by the othe corals?
It varies from what I have seen. I suspect if disturbances are minimal, this could occur over the span of several centuries. On some Pacific reef platforms there were (emphasis on the "were") shallower diverse communities dominated by slower growing corals. A number of Palauan reefs were like this. They have bleached (in 1998-1999) and died... Algal reefs now...
With every storm/hurricane etc we should be watching more and more "weedy" reefs right? Is this true? I mean are these the kind of reefs we have?
In many shallow reefs, it appears that the Acroporid "thickets" that develop are maintained by storms. Deeper water areas - from about 10m and deeper often seem to be dominated by other corals, with different - slower growing Acropora as well as other corals.
Is there any evidence that the "older" Acropora communities have a tendency to produce more allelophatic susbtances?
I think you should ask Eric B. this. He is more "up" on this literature than I am. I think the evidence for allelopathic materials is presently too sparse to address that question adequately.
Im asking this because if the corals that do so are "more effective" in competition, should this tendency be followed by those that are becoming "dominant"?
Quite possibly. This would be a good doctoral dissertation project....
Hi Ron
Thanks for the answers
In regards your comment
Im asking this because if the corals that do so are "more effective" in competition, should this tendency be followed by those that are becoming "dominant"?
Quite possibly. This would be a good doctoral dissertation project....
Well, if you have funding... I always wanted to be a Marine Biologist
Regards
Thanks for the answers
In regards your comment
Im asking this because if the corals that do so are "more effective" in competition, should this tendency be followed by those that are becoming "dominant"?
Quite possibly. This would be a good doctoral dissertation project....
Well, if you have funding... I always wanted to be a Marine Biologist
Regards
Hi Edgar,
Well, if you have funding...
ROFL!!
Actually, I think there has been some good work that addresses some of these points done out of UC Davis, maybe from Geerat Vermeij's group.
I always wanted to be a Marine Biologist
Well.... First you have to take the obligatory vow of poverty.
yardboy
Advanced Bewilderment
While I found your article interesting concerning competition, and am a little embarassed hoping you never see how thick I've got the animals in my tank, I have to differ with the statement about the population densities of corals in the wild. I've been diving for the last few years in the Philippines, and the densities of corals on the reef faces and spur and groove formations is much higher than 1/ft. As a matter of fact, there is difficulty in even finding a place to put your finger to steady yourself to look a t anything.
Hi,
In Acropora thickets and other places with cloned corals, or in very disturbed areas, this is case. Cloned corals don't compete, and in disturbed areas, the competition hasn't reached its conclusion. However in most areas that have been quantitatively studied, stony corals over a few centimeters in diameter are spaced far enough apart to prevent active competition between them. This generally is a distance of 6 to 12 inches.
In Acropora thickets and other places with cloned corals, or in very disturbed areas, this is case. Cloned corals don't compete, and in disturbed areas, the competition hasn't reached its conclusion. However in most areas that have been quantitatively studied, stony corals over a few centimeters in diameter are spaced far enough apart to prevent active competition between them. This generally is a distance of 6 to 12 inches.
Similar threads
