The distribution of Spirobranchus giganteus corniculatus (Hove), a widely distributed tube-building serpulid, on the coral reefs of southern Taiwan was studied by the transect sampling method. Two reef sites in Nanwan Bay, one with a high degree of physical disturbance and the other with a lower degree of disturbance, were surveyed. The spatial distribution of S. giganteus corniculatus on coral colonies was also analyzed using distance to nearest neighbor. The results show that S. giganteus corniculatus is distributed nonrandomly among coral species. Four species, Porites tutee, P. lobete, P. lichen, Montipora informis, are frequently colonized by the worm. About 30 species are occasionally colonized and many coral species are not colonized. Coral species which are frequently colonized by the worm are competitively subordinate. The spatial distribution of S. giganteus corniculatus on a coral colony is related to the number of worms with a tendency toward clustering with increasing number of worms per colony. In addition, most worms were found at intermediate depths (6-17 m) where the reef surface was flat and there were more colonizable scleractinians. The distribution and abundance of S. giganteus corniculatus in different reef areas is likely affected by environmental factors and the availability of colonizable substrate.
Reef serpulid, Distribution pattern, Reef ecology
