|
Vol. 38 No. 2, 1999
Analysis
of Scleractinian Distribution in Taiwan Indicating a Pattern Congruent
with Sea Surface Temperatures and Currents: Examples from Acropora and Faviidae Corals
Chaolun Allen Chen
Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 115
Chaolun Allen Chen (1999)
Taiwan, a continental island with several offshore islets, is located
on the center or junction of the Philippine-Japan island arc.
Approximately 300 species of scleractinian corals occur around Taiwan
and its neighboring islets except on the west coast with its sandy or
muddy habitats. I analyzed the distribution patterns of 104 species of
2 major groups of scleractinian corals, the genus Acropora
and family Faviidae, from 8 regional databases using distance and
parsimony methods. Distance analyses (neighbor-joining) indicate that
southern Taiwan and Green Island possess similar scleractinian
distributions for both Acropora
and Faviidae corals, whereas northeastern Taiwan groups with other
locations of Penghu. Parsimony analysis (exhaustive search) of Acropora
shows a similar pattern of distance analysis, whereas parsimonious tree
of Faviidae united northeastern Taiwan with Green Island and South
Taiwan leaving Penghu as a single group. Combining both Acropora
and Faviidae, parsimony analysis suggests 2 distinct provinces of
scleractinian distributions which show a congruence with sea surface
temperatures and currents around Taiwan.
Key words: Scleractinian corals, Tropical reef, Non-reefal community, Sea surface temperatures, Sea surface currents.
*Correspondence: Tel: 886-2-27899549. Fax: 886-2-27858059. E-mail: cac@sinica.edu.tw
|
