Reproductive strategies of modular organisms: comparative studies of reef-building corals. From: Ecology | Date: April 1, 1996| Author: Hall, V.R.; Hughes, T.P. | COPYRIGHT 1996 Ecological Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

The fecundity of clonal animals and plants is determined by the number of gravid modules (polyps, zooids, shoots, ramets) and their reproductive output. We examined the fecundity of modules (polyps) and colonies of six reef-building corals (Acropora hyacinthus, A. nana, A. gemmifera, A. millepora, Goniastrea retiformis, and Stylophora pistillata) to explore how modularity influences reproductive strategies and the evolution of life histories in clonal animals. In unitary, aclonal organisms, f...