C. P. PARUNTU

Index (English/Japanese) Staff & Students (English/Japanese) C. P. PARUNTU

Carolus Paulus PARUNTU 　 (PhD student)

Research interests:

Morphology, cell, and functional biology of scleractinian corals; and the population ecology of benthic animals (particularly Gastropods)

The use of skeletal characters and nematocyst morphology for taxonomy of the scleractinian corals; nematocyst discharge and function
Intraspecific variability in Nerita (Gastropod)

Past research:
Developmental changes in cnida composition of the coral Pocillopora damicornis was studied. Colonies of P. damicornis were collected from reefs at Tumon Bay & Apra harbor in Guam in 1994 and 1995, and at Sesoko & Bise in Okinawa in 1996. The study suggested that large holotrichous isorhizas (large HI) are used for defense against predators at early stages of development and spirocysts are used for attachment to the substrate during settlement. The study showed that the cnida composition and the dimensions of certain types of nematocysts change during the course of development of P. damicornis (see Galaxea, JCRS, 2: 23-28 (2000)).

Current researches:
The reproductive characteristics of an intertidal gastropod, Nerita japonica (Dunker) were investigated among eight local populations inhabiting different intertidal habitats (i.e., rocky shores (R1-R4) and stony shores (S1-S3)) in Amakusa Shimoshima Island, western Kyushu, Japan. The study demonstrates that body size and reproductive characteristics of N. japonica may vary markedly even over small geographic distances. Such variability in the basic traits of a species must have important implication for their life history strategy (see Benthos Research, in preparation). The growth rate and reproductive effort of an intertidal gastropod, N. japonica were investigated among three local populations inhabiting different intertidal habitats (i.e., the upper rocky shore (R1) and the upper & lower stony shore (S3u & S3l)) in Amakusa Shimoshima Island, western Kyushu, Japan. The study also demonstrates that the growth and reproductive effort of N. japonica may vary markedly even over small geographic distances. Such variability in the basic traits of a species must have important implication for their life history strategy. The present study suggests that difference in growth of N. japonica among populations may be due to a combination of genetic and environmental differences among habitats (in preparation).

Presentations :

C. P. Paruntu, K. Hidaka & M. Hidaka Developmental changes in cnida composition of the coral Pocillopora damicornis. Biological Society of Okinawa (26-05-1996), Ryukyus University
C. P. Paruntu & M. Tokeshi Intraspecific variation in growth and reproductive characteristics among local populations of Nerita japonica. Ecological Society of Japan (49th), Tohoku University.