Concentración de clorofila a en colonias de Pocillopora verrucosa (Scleractina) durante un blanqueamiento coralino en el Golfo de California, México (1997)

Adrián Munguía-Vega ^[1] ; Héctor Reyes-Bonilla ^[1]
1. [1] Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
  
  Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
  
  México
Localización: Revista de Biología Tropical, ISSN 0034-7744, Vol. 47, Nº. 4, 1999, págs. 677-680
Idioma: español
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Resumen
- El Niño-Southern Oscillation 1997-98 significantly elevated sea temperatures in the Gulf of California and caused widespread coral bleaching starting in july 1997. Changes in chlorphyll a concentration by unit of area (cm²) among normal, discolored and totally bleached colonies of the coral Pocillopora verrucosa (=P. elegans) were determined in 27 colonies collected in october, 1997 at Ensenada de Muertos, Baja California peninsula, México (24° 03 N), by spectrophotometric determinations. Mean pigment values varied from 2.06 µg/cm2 to 1.12 µg/cm2 and 0.09 µg/cm² among normal, decolorated and totally bleached colonies, respectively, although statistically significant differences only appeared between completely bleached and normal corals. The low chlorophyll concentration of the healthy-looking ("normal") corals and the lack of differences in pigment concentrations between these and partially bleached corals, indicated that the former had actually suffered a previous loss of pigmentation and may have been recovering when sampled.