Gender-related differences in the apparent timing of skeletal density bands in the reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea
Density banding in skeletons of reef-building corals is a valuable source of proxy environmental data. However, skeletal growth strategy has a significant impact on the apparent timing of density-band formation. Some corals employ a strategy where the tissue occupies previously formed skeleton during as the new band forms, which leads to differences between the actual and apparent band timing. To investigate this effect, we collected cores from female and male colonies of Siderastrea siderea and report tissue thicknesses and density-related growth parameters over a 17-yr interval. Correlating these results with monthly sea surface temperature (SST) shows that maximum skeletal density in the female coincides with low winter SSTs, whereas in the male, it coincides with high summer SSTs. Furthermore, maximum skeletal densities in the female coincide with peak Sr/Ca values, whereas in the male, they coincide with low Sr/Ca values. Both results indicate a 6-month difference in the apparent timing of density-band formation between genders. Examination of skeletal extension rates also show that the male has thicker tissue and extends faster, whereas the female has thinner tissue and a denser skeleton-but both calcify at the same rate.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | Siderastrea siderea, Calcificación, Arrecifes de coral, Aspectos ambientales, Artfrosur, |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-013-1028-y |
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