title: Colony size-frequency distribution of pocilloporid juvenile corals along a natural environmental gradient in the Red Sea.
abstract: Coral colony size-frequency distributions can be used to assess population responses to local environmental conditions and disturbances. In this study, we surveyed juvenile pocilloporids, herbivorous fish densities, and algal cover in the central and southern Saudi Arabian Red Sea. We sampled nine reefs with different disturbance histories along a north-south natural gradient of physicochemical conditions (higher salinity and wider temperature fluctuations in the north, and higher turbidity and productivity in the south). Since coral populations with negatively skewed size-frequency distributions have been associated with unfavorable environmental conditions, we expected to find more negative distributions in the southern Red Sea, where corals are potentially experiencing suboptimal conditions. Although juvenile coral and parrotfish densities differed significantly between the two regions, mean colony size and size-frequency distributions did not. Results suggest that pocilloporid colony size-frequency distribution may not be an accurate indicator of differences in biological or oceanographic conditions in the Red Sea.
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955, Saudi Arabia; Coral Reef Ecology Research Group, Department of Biology, Universidad del Valle, A.A. 25360, Cali, Colombia. Electronic address: diegoflc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Diego F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Lozano-Cortés
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Berumen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D057894:Coral Reefs; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005399:Fishes / Q000254:growth & development; D060434:Herbivory / Q000502:physiology; D019156:Indian Ocean; D009791:Oceanography / Q000379:methods*; D011156:Population Density; D054712:Salinity; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D012624:Seaweed / Q000254:growth & development
keywords: Algae; Coral reefs; Demographics; Juvenile corals; Parrotfish; Red Sea