MCR LTER: Coral Reef: Growth and scaling of photosynthetic energy intake in Fungia concinna: Elahi & Edmunds 2007 JEMBE

For many marine invertebrates, the maximum size of an individual is influenced
heavily by environmental factors and may be limited by energetic constraints. In
this study, an energetic model developed originally for anemones was applied to the
free-living scleractinian Fungia concinna (Verrill) from Moorea,
French Polynesia to test the hypothesis that energetic constraints limit the size
of this solitary coral. The modified model assumed that photosynthesis was the
primary source of metabolic energy, and that metabolic costs were represented by
aerobic respiration; these sources and sinks of energy were compared using daily
energy budgets that were analyzed using double logarithmic regressions of energy
against coral size. These data were published in Elahi, R. and P.J. Edmunds.
2007. Determinate growth and the scaling of photosynthetic energy intake in the
solitary coral Fungia concinna (Verrill). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology
and Ecology 349:183-193. and were part of the masters thesis of R.
Elahi (2005). This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under
Grant No. OCE 16-37396 (and earlier awards) as well as a generous gift from the Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation. Research was completed under permits issued by the French Polynesian
Government (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-commissariat de la République en
Polynésie Francaise (DTRT) (Protocole d'Accueil 2005-2018). This work represents a
contribution of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER Site.