Lower skeletal extension in Pleistocene Orbicella (Montastraea) corals than in their modern counterparts
IntroductionDespite warmer conditions during the Last Interglacial, coral colonies of Orbicella were abundant and reached large sizes on many Caribbean reefs, including the extinct O. nancyi.MethodsTo explore variation in growth rates, we examined the yearly mean linear extension of growth bands in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1098430/full |
| _version_ | 1797840031163875328 |
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| author | Adán Guillermo Jordán-Garza Paul Blanchon Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet Eric Jordán-Dahlgren |
| author_facet | Adán Guillermo Jordán-Garza Paul Blanchon Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet Eric Jordán-Dahlgren |
| author_sort | Adán Guillermo Jordán-Garza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionDespite warmer conditions during the Last Interglacial, coral colonies of Orbicella were abundant and reached large sizes on many Caribbean reefs, including the extinct O. nancyi.MethodsTo explore variation in growth rates, we examined the yearly mean linear extension of growth bands in two fossil Orbicella species and compared them with two modern species of the same genus from shallow waters of the wider Caribbean.We measured the linear extension of corals exposed in a fossil reef and their modern counterparts, from both in situ colonies and coral slab X-rays.ResultsFew coral colonies showed autocorrelation or a linear trend on their linear-growth time series. A Bayesian ANOVA showed lower linear-extension rates of fossils compared to modern colonies and similar or lower than other fossil corals from the Pleistocene. Growth rates and growth form contribute significantly to the amount of tissue and size of coral colonies and can be a decisive trait for inter and intra specific competition.DiscussionIt is unlikely that temperature or interspecific competition explain modern coral extension rates and the low rates of the fossils data, which seem to be controlled instead by past habitat conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:07:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aee22687b6fe46338a1512446d37ae78 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:07:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-aee22687b6fe46338a1512446d37ae782023-04-25T04:56:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452023-04-011010.3389/fmars.2023.10984301098430Lower skeletal extension in Pleistocene Orbicella (Montastraea) corals than in their modern counterpartsAdán Guillermo Jordán-Garza0Paul Blanchon1Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet2Eric Jordán-Dahlgren3Coral Reefs Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Cuerpo Académico Ecosistemas Costeros, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan, MexicoUnidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto Morelos, MexicoUnidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto Morelos, MexicoUnidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto Morelos, MexicoIntroductionDespite warmer conditions during the Last Interglacial, coral colonies of Orbicella were abundant and reached large sizes on many Caribbean reefs, including the extinct O. nancyi.MethodsTo explore variation in growth rates, we examined the yearly mean linear extension of growth bands in two fossil Orbicella species and compared them with two modern species of the same genus from shallow waters of the wider Caribbean.We measured the linear extension of corals exposed in a fossil reef and their modern counterparts, from both in situ colonies and coral slab X-rays.ResultsFew coral colonies showed autocorrelation or a linear trend on their linear-growth time series. A Bayesian ANOVA showed lower linear-extension rates of fossils compared to modern colonies and similar or lower than other fossil corals from the Pleistocene. Growth rates and growth form contribute significantly to the amount of tissue and size of coral colonies and can be a decisive trait for inter and intra specific competition.DiscussionIt is unlikely that temperature or interspecific competition explain modern coral extension rates and the low rates of the fossils data, which seem to be controlled instead by past habitat conditions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1098430/fullPleistocenecoral reeffossil coralsOrbicella nancyicoral extension rates |
| spellingShingle | Adán Guillermo Jordán-Garza Paul Blanchon Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet Eric Jordán-Dahlgren Lower skeletal extension in Pleistocene Orbicella (Montastraea) corals than in their modern counterparts Frontiers in Marine Science Pleistocene coral reef fossil corals Orbicella nancyi coral extension rates |
| title | Lower skeletal extension in Pleistocene Orbicella (Montastraea) corals than in their modern counterparts |
| title_full | Lower skeletal extension in Pleistocene Orbicella (Montastraea) corals than in their modern counterparts |
| title_fullStr | Lower skeletal extension in Pleistocene Orbicella (Montastraea) corals than in their modern counterparts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lower skeletal extension in Pleistocene Orbicella (Montastraea) corals than in their modern counterparts |
| title_short | Lower skeletal extension in Pleistocene Orbicella (Montastraea) corals than in their modern counterparts |
| title_sort | lower skeletal extension in pleistocene orbicella montastraea corals than in their modern counterparts |
| topic | Pleistocene coral reef fossil corals Orbicella nancyi coral extension rates |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1098430/full |
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