Large fluctuations but constant mean temperatures allow corals to persist in intertidal rock pools on the east coast of South Africa
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- 作者：Kaylee Smit ; David Glassom
- 关键词：Intertidal ; Temperature ; Rock pools ; Hard coral ; Pocillopora verrucosa ; Anomastrea irregularis
- 刊名：Helgoland Marine Research
- 出版年：2018
- 出版时间：January 2018
- 年：0
- 卷：71
- 期：1
- 全文大小：1133KB
- 刊物主题：Ecology; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Microbiology; Plant Sciences; Zoology; Waste Water Technology / Water Pollution Control / Water Management / Aquatic Pollution;
- 出版者：BioMed Central
- ISSN：1438-3888
- 卷排序：71
文摘
Intertidal corals have been under-studied yet they provide scope for understanding adaptation and acclimatisation of corals to marginal conditions. Corals in intertidal rock pools along the east coast of South Africa withstand large temperature fluctuations, and marginal conditions for survival and growth. Four sites along the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) coastline were sampled to determine latitudinal differences in coral communities, from 27°S to 31°S. Water temperature of rock pools at each site was monitored to see if temperature determined coral diversity in intertidal pools. Sixteen coral species were present in rock pools overall. Each of three sites in northern and central KZN hosted 12 coral taxa whereas only six taxa occurred at the most southern site. Anomastrea irregularis was the most abundant species at all sites, followed by Pocillopora verrucosa and P. damicornis. Unexpectedly, rock pool temperatures did not show a trend with latitude and thus cannot explain this decline in coral diversity. Temperatures in isolated rock pools showed large summer day time fluctuations of more than 10 °C at spring tide. However, temperatures drop substantially at high tide, lowering the mean rock pool temperature and possibly allowing these coral communities to persist in the marginal conditions of rock pools in South Africa.