Lesion healing on massive porites spp. corals

Small tissue lesions 15 to 1310 mm(2) were inflicted on massive Porites spp, corals living in a shallow moat (<3 m) in Okinawa, Japan. All but 1 lesion, affected by extreme mid-winter low tides, healed completely within 19 mo. Regeneration rates decreased exponentially over time and decreased in accordance with the lesion's surface area. The best predictive models were those using the derivatives of the exponential equations. A high perimeter to surface area ratio was a consequence of, and appeared to facilitate, regeneration. There was no significant difference in the rate of lesion regeneration between Porites lutea and Porites lobata.