EFFECT OF LESION SIZE AND SHAPE ON REGENERATION OF THE RED-SEA CORAL FAVIA-FAVUS

The present study examined the effect of lesion size and shape on the recovery rates of the scleractinian colonial coral Favia favus. Five t issue lesion types, differing in surface area and perimeter, were arti ficially inflicted on the upper surface of 46 F. favus colonies in the shallow reef across from the Marine Biology Laboratory of Eilat (Red Sea). The gradual closure of these lesions was monitored monthly from January to March 1995 by underwater photography. Photographs over time were analyzed with a computerized image analyzer, enabling accurate m easurements of the emerging tissue. In this study we present the perce nt recovery of the various lesion types through time and the ratios be tween the newly formed tissue and the perimeter length (NFT/P) of each specific lesion. These results show for the first time the significan t effect of lesion size and shape on the regeneration capability of a colonial coral. We found that the high recovery rates achieved during the first month are regulated mainly by the perimeter length of the le sion, while during the following months recovery is influenced more by the surface area of the lesion and its surface area/perimeter ratio. The various NFT/P ratios recorded in this study indicate that lesions with a relatively long perimeter probably obtain a higher energetic al location from the colony, probably due to the larger colony portion as sociated with their recovery.