Widespread occurrence of a rarely known association between the hydrocorals Stylaster roseus and Millepora alcicornis at Bonaire, southern Caribbean

Among symbiotic associations, cases of pseudo-auto-epizoism, in which a species uses a resembling but not directly related species as substrate, are poorly documented in coral reef ecosystems. In the present study, we assessed the distribution of an association between the hydrocoralsStylaster roseusandMillepora alcicornison about 50% of coral reef sites studied in Bonaire, southern Caribbean. Although previously thought to be uncommon, associations between the lace coralS. roseusand the fire coralM. alcicorniswere observed at both the windward and leeward sides of Bonaire, mainly between 15 a... Mehr ...