Dominance of a coral community by the genus Porites (Scleractinia)

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Abstract
The genus Porites is a major component of many coral communities on inshore continental shelf reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. On the leeward margin of Pandora Reef, 7 spp. of massive Porites [P. lobata, P. solida, P. lutea, P. australiensis, P. mayeri, P. murrayensis, and P. anae] physically dominate the coral community. The populations of commoner species are themselves dominated, demographically and genetically by a few persistent genotypes. Five percent of colonies contain 52% of skeletal CaCO3; 9% of colonies have 50% of living tissues. The largest colony is at least 677 yr old. Genotypic ages of tissues may be considerably greater, since colonies appear to form clones by fragmentation.

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