Growth characteristics of skeletons of Montastraea annularis (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) from the northwest coast of Cuba

Abstract

Growth characteristics (extension rate, density, and calcification rate) were determined using annual growth bands in skeletons of the reef-building coral Montastraea annularis, collected at 10 m depth on the northwest coast of Cuba. X-radiography contact prints revealed that the high-density band is formed during the warmest months of the year. Growth characteristics obtained were within the range of values presented by other authors for M. annularis in reefs distributed throughout the Atlantic. The relationships among the measured growth characteristics were similar to those previously described by other authors. The relationship found between calcification rate and sea surface temperature gradient in the Caribbean suggests that populations of M. annularis on the northwest coast of Cuba are related to populations of this species from the Caribbean and not to those from the Gulf of Mexico.