Growth and mortality rates of the reef coral Pavona gigantea in Cabo Pulmo reef, Gulf of California

Abstract

The reef coral Pavona gigantea Verril, 1896 is an important reef builder in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and the present study sought to estimate its growth and mortality rates in Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico. The growth rate of 25 colonies was estimated with alizarin staining (mean growth rate was 10.1 mm yr–1, 95% CI 1.4) and the height of 87 colonies was measured to estimate the age structure of the population. The mean age was 14.85 (SE 1.91) yrs, with a minimum of 3 yrs and a maximum of 53 yrs. The mortality rate was fit by an exponential decay model and was estimated to be 0.0533 (SE 0.0171) yr–1. Based on these results, the presumed maximum longevity of a cohort is around 101 yrs. This is the first study to present the mortality rate and generation time for any species of the family Agariciidae, and might be useful for comparative studies or as a valuable baseline with which to compare current and future changes expected under climate change scenarios. Also, the estimation of natural mortality, potential growth, and the life span of this species may be useful to account for the potential success of restauration efforts.