| determinate growth and modularity in a gorgonian octocoral. | growth rates of branches of colonies of the gorgonian pseudopterogorgia elisabethae were monitored for 2 years on a reef at san salvador island, bahamas. images of 261 colonies were made at 6-month intervals and colony and branch growth analyzed. branch growth rates differed between colonies and between the time intervals in which the measurements were made. colonies developed a plumelike morphology through a pattern of branch origination and determinate growth in which branch growth rates were ... | 2003 | 14672986 |
| microsatellite variation reveals high levels of genetic variability and population structure in the gorgonian coral pseudopterogorgia elisabethae across the bahamas. | the primary mechanism of gene flow in marine sessile invertebrates is larval dispersal. in pseudopterogorgia elisabethae, a commercially important caribbean gorgonian coral, a proportion of the larvae drop to the substratum within close proximity to the maternal colony, and most matings occur between individuals in close proximity to each other. such limited dispersal of reproductive propagules suggests that gene flow is limited in this gorgonian. in this study, we characterized the population g ... | 2004 | 15245395 |
| high fertilization success in a surface-brooding caribbean gorgonian. | colonies of the caribbean gorgonian pseudopterogorgia elisabethae release eggs that are retained on the colony surface where they are fertilized and then develop. in december 2001, spawning on san salvador island, bahamas, occurred over 6 d, with spawning by any one colony limited to 1-3 d. with the exception of the first and last days of the spawning period, fertilization success was high, often greater than 90%. eggs collected in december 2001 had an overall fertilization success of more than ... | 2006 | 16501060 |