Phenotypic plasticity of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Cycloseris somervillei </i>(Scleractinia: Fungiidae) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Abstract

Fringing reefs of Andaman &amp; Nicobar group of islands harbor 45 species of mushroom corals species up to the depth of 30 m. An individual of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Cycloseris somervillei </i>(Gardiner, 1909) was sampled from five study areas. Seven different morphological characters of each specimen of the target species were measured. Those characters were differed significantly among the specimens of study sites. Environmental parameter viz. temperature and rainfall was also measured to make a correlation between morphological differences and environmental factors. Depth plays a crucial role in the alteration of structural conformation. Underwater visibility also has an impact on the structural variation of the same species at different sites. This paper deals with the morphological variation of a species of mushroom coral i. e. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Cycloseris somervillei</i> in response to the environmental clues.