| The
syndrome has generally received little attention though it has
been recently described as a response by the coral in defence to
contain invading or competing organisms such as cyanobacteria37.
A similar condition has more recently been described as Porites
ulcerative white spot disease though this is probably a true
disease and likely a unique response to a specific pathogen38.
On the GBR, from our
observations, the observed discolouration ranges from pink
through to white and appears on scar tissue that forms in a
common response to stress, usually mechanical, imparted by a
wide variety of factors (e.g. parasites, predators, commensals,
competition for space, fish bite marks, the margins of damsel
fish gardens, persistent rubbing by other benthic organisms, or
margins around turf alga patches on the colony from unspecific
causes). |
Image 11. Photograph of Porites pinking. In this case the
pink banding is most likely due to feeding activity of the
corallivorous gastropod Quoyula madreporarum which can
be seen in the bottom right of the photograph.
Photograph AIMS LTMP
Click here for a larger view
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Introduction 
