Slow population turnover in the soft coral genera Sinularia and Sarcophyton on mid- and outer-shelf reefs of the Great Barrier Reef

Abstract

In both Sinularia and Sarcophyton, average radial growth was around 0.5 cm yr-1, and relative growth rates were size-dependent. In Sinularia, populations changed very slowly over time. Their per capita mortality was low and size-independent, and indicated longevity of the colonies. Mortality was more than compensated for by asexual reproduction through colony fission. In Sarcophyton, mortality was low in colonies larger than 5 cm disk diameter, and significantly higher in newly recruited small colonies. Rates of mortality and recruitment in the family Alcyoniidae differed fundamentally from those of the commonly more "fugitive' families Xeniidae and Nephtheidae. -from Author