ABSTRACT
Here, we report information on the growth rate of T. a. macrodiscus, the extent of arm damage caused by the heavy typhoon event, and the mechanism of recovery.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was conducted on an artificial reef deployed on a sandy bottom of 20 m depth off the Manazuru Peninsula in the northwestern part of Sagami Bay (Fig. 1). The network of artificial reefs consisted of 10 steel-frame blocks. The block on which individuals of T. a. macrodiscus were studied was 5 m wide and 10 m long and had six pinnacles. All of the observed individuals were distributed on one of the pinnacles, which extended to a height of 5.1 m above the sea bottom (Fig. 1-d). In situ monitoring every one or two months between December 2005 and March 2008 was carried out by SCUBA diving. The distribution, growth, and regeneration of four young and one adult individual were monitored.
