1979/04/01 by Jen Veron, T. J. Done · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Biology #Cephalopods and Marine Biology #Cnidaria #Coelenterata #Coral #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Coral reef #Ecology #Geography #Geology #Hermatypic coral #Marine and coastal plant biology #Oceanography #Reef #Scleractinia
paper · doi:10.1071/mf9790203
openalex publication_date 1979/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/13
Fifty-seven species of 33 genera of hermatypic Scleractinia are found at Lord Howe Island, the southernmost coral reef of the Pacific. All except two undescribed species are known from the Great Barrier Reef. The families Fungiidae, Merulinidae, Caryophyllidae and Oculinidae are absent from the island and the Mussidae are represented by two genera only. Coral communities are mapped from survey data and aerial photography. Lagoon and reef communities defined using a polythetic agglomerative procedure are shown to have an ordered distribution relative to their hydrodynamic regime. These communities differ substantially from their tropical equivalents due to growth form deviations of dominant species and depauperate species composition. Available surface circulation and temperature data suggest existing coral communities are the result of a balance between periodic denudation by cold, subantarctic currents and recolonization by larvae from tropical currents. Low temperatures per se appear to have llttle effect on coral growth but may affect growth form responses to light regimes.