Increased density of the corallivore Drupella cornus on Acropora muricata colonies overgrown by Padina boryana
Version: 1,
Uploaded by: Administrator,
Date Uploaded:
25 November 2022
Warning
You are about to be redirected to a website not operated by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council. Kindly note that we are not responsible for the availability or content of the linked site. Are you sure you want to leave this page?
This study investigated the percentage of shallow, lagoonal Acropora
muricata colonies overgrown by the macroalga Padina boryana and the density of Drupella
cornus, a corallivorous gastropod on those colonies, during summer (March) and winter
(August) of 1998 and from 2010 to 2014 at Flic-en-Flac, Mauritius. In 1998, the percentage
of A. muricata colonies covered by P. boryana were 11.11 ± 2.22% (mean ± SE) and 8.89 ±
2.22% for summer and winter, respectively, and D. cornus density was low for both summer
(0.60 ± 0.55 individuals m-2
; mean ± SE) and winter (0.80 ± 0.84 individuals m-2
). However,
from 2010 to 2014, a high percentage of coral colonies were observed to be covered by P.
boryana with peak in summer 2012 (93.33 ± 3.85%). Increased macroalgal coverage in
summer coincided with high D. cornus densities of to 30.60 ± 1.21 individuals m-2
in summer
2012. During winters of 2010 to 2014, the percentage of macroalga-covered A. muricata
colonies and D. cornus density on the macroalga-covered colonies were lower as compared to
summer. Significant positive correlation was obtained between the percentage of P. boryanacovered A. muricata and the density of D. cornus (r = +0.967, p<0.01, Pearson correlation)
for both seasons. The effective quantum yield at photosystem II (ФPSII) of in hospite
zooxanthellae in A. muricata measured in the healthy part of the coral colony was 0.62 ± 0.01
(mean ± SE) and was significantly higher than in the P. boryana-affected section, 0.27 ±
0.01 (p<0.001, One-way ANOVA). These results suggest that overgrowth of P. boryana is
potentially stressful to the A. muricata colonies and that shallow, lagoonal P. boryanacovered colonies might be more vulnerable to D. cornus predation.
