Effect of bleaching on lipid content and composition of Okinawan corals

Lipid contents and compositions of the bleached Okinawan corals were analyzed for the first time. Bleached corals collected at Sesoko Okinawa, Japan (26°38′N, 127°52′E), after the 1998 bleaching event showed decreased lipid content with a concomitant decline of wax in the lipid composition. The reductionin the lipid content of corals showed diversity depending on their colony morphology. On the whole, corals of massive morphology were relatively rich in lipid even after the bleaching event, and hence lesser reduction in the lipid content compared with the cases for those of branching morphology. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between lipid content and zooxanthellae density in the bleached corals, suggesting again the importance of symbiont for the supply of lipid to the host cells, and hence for the survival of the bleaching event.