Ruiz-Torres, Héctor J.

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2004 - 200912010 - 20121
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    Morphometric examination of corallite and colony variability in the Caribbean coral Montastraea cavernosa
    (2004-12) Ruiz-Torres, Héctor J.; Weil, Ernesto F.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Ballantine, David; Yoshioka, Paul; Aponte, Nilda E.; Department of Marine Sciences; Ramírez Martínez, Wilson
    The genus Montastraea in the Caribbean was thought to be formed by two species, M. annularis and M. cavernosa. However, recent research has uncovered two more species in the M. annularis complex, and two different morphologies of M. cavernosa that commonly co-occur were separated based on polyp size and behavior. A small-polyped form mostly active during the day (diurnal ecomorph), and a large-polyped form only active during the night (nocturnal ecomorph). Nevertheless, no specific taxonomic separation has ever been proposed and most recent studies using this species lumped the two ecomorphs. In this work, a multivariate approach was used to explore the ecological, morphological and behavioral differences between the two behavioral ecomorphs of M. cavernosa proposed. Ecological surveys at four different reef localities of Puerto Rico showed that the two behavioral ecomorphs were abundant, but with a differential distribution along the reef profile. Results indicate that 90 % of shallow (6m) M. cavernosa colonies were of the diurnal ecomorph, and 60% of the deeper water (20 m) colonies were of the nocturnal ecomorph. High corallite and colony morphometric variability within each behavioral ecomorph across depth gradients support the idea that environmental factors might influence their morphology. Significant morphological differences in 10 micro-morphological characters analyzed in 60 colonies (30 diurnal and 30 nocturnal) from two reefs (Media Luna and Turrumote), and a Stepwise Canonical Discriminant Function Analysis, which separated two distinct groups (with 94.0% of all colonies correctly classified), suggest that the two behavioral ecomorphs are two separate species (sibling species). Reproductive and molecular analyses are now been conducted to support this hypothesis.
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    Spatial and temporal variations in the relative abundances of coral reef algae in Southwest Puerto Rico
    (2012) Ruiz-Torres, Héctor J.; Ballantine, David L.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Appeldoorn, Richard; Aponte, Nilda; Yoshioka, Paul; Kubaryk, John M.; Department of Marine Sciences; Alfaro, Mónica
    A detailed 5 year study of algal community structure at 8 coral reefs distributed across the insular shelf at La Parguera, Puerto Rico was undertaken between 2003 and 2007. Significant temporal variation in species cover and composition was documented for the shelf edge reefs. Conversely little temporal variation at mid shelf or inshore reefs occurred during the same time period. Previously considered as being a relatively undisturbed ecosystem, the shelf edge reefs in the southwest Puerto Rico were documented to be undergoing a phase shift from a coraldominated reef to an algal dominated reef. The significant and dramatic increase in total cover of shelf edge benthic algae was calculated to be 43%. Composition of the algal flora also changed during the period. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that differences in algae composition between reefs were influenced by differences in water depth and distance from shore. The fine-scale examination of coral reef-associated algae resulted in recognition of a number of new elements to the Puerto Rican flora as well as recognition and description of four new species. New records for the flora included: Lithophyllum congestum, Metapeyssonnelia corallepida, Dictyota pfaffii, Peyssonnelia boergesenii, Caulerpa nummularia, Myriogramme prostrata, Kallymenia limminghei and Antithamnionella graeffei. Species new to science were Halichrysis corallinarius, Peyssonnelia flavescens, Metapeyssonnelia milleporoides, Botryocladia iridescens and Cresia opalescens.