Abstract
Variations of cadmium, lead, copper, nickel and chromium concentrations in tissues and skeletons of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis were measured to provide information for designing bio-assay surveys involving this organism. Intra-colony variations were measured using multiple portions from individual colonies, and inter-colony variations were measured using single portions from different colonies of a coral community. We found that specific metals partitioned differently into tissue and skeletal parts, possibly because selectivity for each metal differed due to biochemical utility or toxicity. Intra-colony variations in metal concentrations were inconsistent, and skewed distributions of tissue-metal concentrations were sometimes observed. Overall, the application of tissues for heavy-metal bio-assays is compromised by inconsistent intra-colony variation, and the substantial material needed to represent tissue-biomass. In contrast, small replicate samples of skeleton can be collected from a colony, allowing representation of intra-colony metal variation with minimal damage to the organism.
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