Recovery patterns of corals at Shabror Umm Gam’ar, Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt, after the 1998 outbreak of Acanthaster planci

Abstract Recovery patterns of corals were estimated after the Crown-of-thorns Starfish Acanthaster planci outbreak in 1998 at Shabror Umm Gam’ar, Hurghada, Egyptian Red Sea. The significance of using linear extrapolation was tested at ten sites by comparison with the actual average yearly recovery rates. A total of 15 permanent transects, each 10 m long, was monitored at 10 and 12 m depths at Shabror Umm Gam’ar for three years and the recovery rates were estimated by linear extrapolation. Ten other selected sites around Hurghada were monitored annually for nine years after the complete cessation of severe anchor damage. The recovery rates were estimated both by the actual annual recovery rate and by linear extrapolation. The recovery rate estimated by linear extrapolation did not differ significantly from the recovery rate of stony corals in the ten selected sites. However, an error of +7.69% to +17.5% increase in the extrapolated recovery rate exists and should be considered when handling the extrapolate...