Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Marginal Coral Populations: The Densest Known Aggregation Of Pocillopora In The Galápagos Archipelago Is Of Asexual Origin, Iliana B. Baums, Meghann Devlin-Durante, Beatrice A. A. Laing, Joshua S. Feingold, Tyler B. Smith, Andrew Bruckner, Joao Monteiro

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coral populations at distributional margins frequently experience suboptimal and variable conditions. Recurrent El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) warming events have caused extensive mortality of reef-building corals in the Eastern Pacific, and particularly impacted branching pocilloporid corals in the Galápagos Islands. Pocillopora spp. were previously more common and formed incipient reefs at several locations in the archipelago but now occur as scattered colonies. Here, we report an unusually concentrated aggregation of colonies and evaluate their current genetic diversity. In particular we focus on a large population of 1614 live Pocillopora colonies found in a volcanic lagoon along the southern shore of Isabela …