NDLI: Clypeotheca, a new skeletal structure in scleractinian corals: a potential stress indicator

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	thdurft, L. D. Webb, G. E.
Copyright Year	2008
Abstract	Physiological responses to environmental stress are increasingly well studied in scleractinian corals. This work reports a new stress-related skeletal structure we term clypeotheca. Clypeotheca was observed in several live-collected common reef-building coral genera and a two to three kya subfossil specimen from Heron Reef, Great Barrier Reef and consists of an epitheca-like skeletal wall that seals over the surface of parts of the corallum in areas of stress or damage. It appears to form from a coordinated process wherein neighboring polyps and adjoining coenosarc seal themselves off from the surrounding environment as they contract and die. Clypeotheca forms from inward skeletal centripetal growth at the edges of corallites and by the merging of flange-like outgrowths that surround individual spines over the surface of the coenosteum. Microstructurally, the merged flanges are similar to upside-down dissepiments and true epitheca. Clypeotheca is interpreted primarily as a response to stress that may help protect the colony from invasion of unhealthy tissues by parasites or disease by retracting tissues in areas that have become unhealthy for the polyps. Identification of skeletal responses of corals to environmental stress may enable the frequency of certain types of environmental stress to be documented in past environments. Such data may be important for understanding the nature of reef dynamics through intervals of climate change and for monitoring the effects of possible anthropogenic stress in modern coral reef habitats.
Starting Page	143
Ending Page	153
Page Count	11
File Format	PDF
ISSN	07224028
Journal	Coral Reefs
Volume Number	28
Issue Number	1
e-ISSN	14320975
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2008-10-25
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Scleractinian coral Environmental stress Skeletal modification Physiological response Fossil coral Oceanography Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Aquatic Science

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