American Samoa Coral Reef Advisory Group- Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Pago Pago, AS, 96799, USA.
National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, Pago Pago, AS, 96799, USA.
Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 7;10(1):21359. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-77776-7.
An exceptionally large, hermatypic colony of Porites sp. has been identified and measured at Ta'u, American Samoa. This coral was measured in November 2019 as part of an effort to catalogue all large (≥ 2 m diameter) Porites colonies around Ta'u. Colonies exceeding 10 m in diameter were recorded on three different sides of the island with seasonally different wave exposures. The largest colony measured 8 m tall, 69 m in circumference and had a diameter of 22.4 m. To date, this is the biggest colony recorded in American Samoa, and one of the largest documented worldwide. It is currently unknown why such large corals exist around this particular island. Possible explanations include mild wave or atmospheric climates and minimal anthropogenic impacts. Physiologically, these colonies may be resistant and/or resilient to disturbances. Large, intact corals can help build past (century-scale) climatic profiles, and better understand coral persistence, particularly as coral communities worldwide are declining at rapid rates.
在美属萨摩亚的塔乌，发现并测量了一个异常大的、造礁石珊瑚属（Porites）群体。该珊瑚于 2019 年 11 月被测量，作为对塔乌周边所有大型（≥2 米直径）造礁石珊瑚属群体进行编目的工作的一部分。在岛上三个不同的、季节性波浪暴露情况不同的位置，记录到了直径超过 10 米的群体。最大的群体高 8 米，周长 69 米，直径为 22.4 米。迄今为止，这是在美属萨摩亚记录到的最大的群体，也是世界上记录到的最大群体之一。目前尚不清楚为什么在这个特定的岛屿周围会存在如此大的珊瑚。可能的解释包括温和的波浪或大气气候以及最小的人为影响。从生理上讲，这些群体可能对干扰具有抵抗力和/或恢复力。大型完整的珊瑚可以帮助建立过去（百年尺度）的气候剖面，并更好地了解珊瑚的持久性，特别是因为全球范围内的珊瑚群落正在迅速减少。
