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Effects of artificial settlement plate materials and methods of deployment on the sessile epibenthic community development in a tropical environment

Lookup NU author(s): Stuart Field, Professor John BythellORCiD

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Abstract

The choice of substrata and the methods of deployment in analyses of settlement in benthic communities are often driven by the cost of materials and their local availability, and comparisons are often made between studies using different methodologies. The effects of varying artificial substratum, size of replicates and method of deployment were determined on a shallow reef in Eilat, Israel, while the effect of size of replicates was also investigated on a shallow reef in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. When statistical power was high enough, that is, when sufficient numbers of settlers were recorded, significant differences were found between materials used, tile size and methods of deployment. Significant differences were detected in total coral settlement rates and for the two dominant taxonomic groups, acroporids and pocilloporids. Standardisation of tile materials, dimensions, and method of deployment is needed for comparison between coral and other epibiont settlement studies. However, a greater understanding of the effects of these experimental variables on settlement processes may enable retrospective comparisons between studies utilising a range of materials and methods. © 2007 Springer-Verlag.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Field SN, Glassom D, Bythell J

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Coral Reefs

Year: 2007

Volume: 26

Issue: 2

Pages: 279-289

Print publication date: 01/06/2007

ISSN (print): 0722-4028

ISSN (electronic): 1432-0975

Publisher: Springer

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-006-0191-9

DOI: 10.1007/s00338-006-0191-9

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