ABSTRACT: Here we document for the first time an oriented intra-colonial translocation of photosynthetic products towards regenerating areas in 2 scleractinian corals, Favia favus (n = 5) and Platygyra lamellina (n = 3) in Eilat (Red Sea). ¹⁴C bicarbonate was injected into round stainless-steel cylinders (10 h daylight incubation period) enabling labeling of a restricted tissue area of 20 cm² in each colony center. Three tissue lesion sizes (small, intermediate and large) were inflicted simultaneously on each colony at a distance of 10 cm from and at different angles to the labeled area. After 3 wk, tissue and skeletal samples were taken from various locations on the coral colonies, and ¹⁴C activity was determined. In F. favus a significant labeling of tissues was recorded in areas bordering the recuperating large lesions and along the axis connecting these lesions with the labeled centers. This pattern of labeling was not found in the smaller lesions. In P. lamellina¹⁴C incorporation was recorded in the tissues bordering large as well as intermediate sized lesions. The skeletal samples from F. favus showed significant ¹⁴C deposition in areas bordering the large lesions, indicating the use of translocated ¹⁴C materials for skeletogenesis in large lesion regeneration. Our results indicate that ¹⁴C labeled materials originating in distant areas of the coral colony are translocated towards large regenerating lesions. Furthermore, the size of the coral lesion is shown to affect the magnitude of this translocation.

KEY WORDS: Regeneration · Translocation · Photosynthetic products · Scleractinian corals · Red Sea · Favia favus · Platygyra lamellina

Published in MEPS Vol. 161 (1997) on December 31
ISSN: 0171-8630. Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 1997