Authors: Simone Siag OigmanPszczol Joel C Creed
Publish Date: 2006/04/05
Volume: 563, Issue: 1, Pages: 143-
Abstract
This study describes the distribution and abundance patterns of the associate fauna on the living surface of the corals Siderastrea stellata Verril 1868 and Mussismilia hispida Verril 1902 using a nondestructive method on the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro State For each coral species infestation density and proportions of infested colonies colonies attached and unattached to the substrate were estimated A total of 474 colonies of S stellata and 452 colonies of M hispida were examined The barnacle Ceratoconcha floridana Pilsbry 1931 was the dominant coral associate found followed by gallcrabs of the family Cryptochiridae Paulson 1875 and the bivalve Lithophaga bisulcata d’Orbigny 1842 Both coral species presented similar patterns of infestation dominance S stellata colonies were more commonly infested and showed a greater mean infestation density of 062 ind/cm2 at Armação dos Búzios whereas M hispida colonies had infestation densities of only 020 ind/cm2 Infestation density does not appear to impact negatively on corals of Armação dos Búzios A clear negative relationship between the number of associates in the coral colony and coral size was found Evidently abundance and frequency of occurrence of associated fauna is highly related to coral community structure and composition and the results highlight the importance of local scale studies
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