2 

 2 



HI 

 I- 

 < 

 DC 



< 



< 



N=187 N=146 



A. agaricites 



N=50 



P. astreoides 



10m 20m 35m 



A. lamarcki 



CC N=27 N = 50 N = 43 



° 15i 



20m 35m 55m 



DEPTH 



N = 71 N=22 



10m 20m 



M. annularis 



15 



N=56 N = 63 N=63 



20m 35m 



DEPTH 



55m 



Figure 1. Frequency distribution of annual radial qrowth rates versus depth for 

 A. agaricites , A. lamarcki , P. astreoides and M. annularis . Measurements at 

 each depth were categorized into 5mm growth classes and the frequency distrib- 

 ution (shaded areas) standardized by dividing by the sample size. The sample 

 sizes (N) indicate the number of colonies measured in situ or after staining and 

 collection. The total number of colonies measured or stained over the three 

 years was 778. Arrows signify means. 



surviving from 1977 to 1980, over 75% were injured at least once. Although deeper 

 colonies tend to be larger, they are not necessarily much older than smaller, 

 shallow colonies, whose history of growth and injury will often be more complex. 

 Whether similarly sized corals of different past histories will have comparable 

 expectations of survival and fecundity remains an interesting, but untested, 

 question. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Connell, J.H. 1973. Population ecology of reef building corals, p. 205-245. 

 In : O.A. Jones and R. Endean (eds.), Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs, 

 Vol. 2. Academic Press, New York. 



Highsmith, R.C. 1979. Coral growth rates and environmental control of density 

 banding. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol . 37: 105-125. 



19 



