An energy budget for Porites porites
Edmunds PJ and Davies PS. 1986. An energy budget for Porites porites. Marine Biology. 92:339-347
As energy budget for Porites porites (Pallas) was determined for specimens from 10m depth on the Fore Reef of Discovery Bay, Jamaica, between July 1984 and July 1985, Evidence for habitual zooplankton ingestion was not observed, and P. porites appears to be largely autotrophic. Of the daily photosynthetically fixed energy, 26% used for animal respiration and growth, 22% for zooanthellae respiration and growth. and < 1% for colony reproduction as mature planulae; 45% remains unaccounted for. Colony respiration, net photosynthesis, colony skeleton and tissue growth, zooplankton ingestion, reproductive effort and energy content of tissues were measured. Evergy loss as continuous mucus secretion was not effective, but may occur by an alternative route via mucus which occur periodically in situ and in the laboratory. The energy budget suggests that a considerablly photosynthetically fixed energy is produced on a sunny day at lO m depth. This surplus may be for periodic rather than continuous energy trends. or may be essentially "less-than-ideal"when net input is reduced.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Edmunds, P.; Davies, P.
- Units
- BISC
- Keywords
- Coral, Energy Budgets, Photosynthesis, Porites, Respiration, scleractinian coral, Stony corals