MCR LTER: Coral Reef: Estimates of component primary production and respiration, ongoing since 2006

Estimates of primary production and respiration of three representative components of the Moorea coral reef ecosystem are made yearly in a laboratory flume. The components are: algal turf communities, the macroalga Sargassum pacificum, and the common branching coral Pocillopora verrucosa. Metabolism estimates are made using changes in dissolved oxygen over time in a flume in unidirectional flow at saturating irradiances and dark. Rates are normalized to projected (planar) surface area (all components) and biomass (algal turfs, Sargassum).