Fragmentation in Madracis mirabilis (Duchassaing and Michelotti): how common is size-specific fragment survivorship in corals?

Fragmentation is an important asexual mode of reproduction for many coral species and other marine invertebrates. General life history theory and models of coral fragmentation predict that intra- and inter-specific variation in fragment size should be positively related to survival and inversely related to dispersal distance. To test these predictions I examined fragmentation in the Caribbean branching coral Madracis mirabilis, which produces relatively small fragments. The effects of intra-specific variation in fragment size on fragment survival and dispersal in M. mirabilis were examined by following the fate of 60 labeled fragments for 11 months at three sites. Fragment dispersal distance was limited (generally