In addition to size, the type and orientation of fragments
should also be considered. Type of fragment usually refers
to branched species, which can be fragmented in several
ways (Fig. 2a–d): taking single branch tips, dichotomous
branches, cylindrical sections of branches or flat fragments
(i.e. cylindrical cuttings that are longitudinally cut into two
equal pieces). Different fragment types may exhibit different growth and survival rates. Rinkevich (2000) found that
dichotomous branches ofStylophora pistillatagrew faster
than single branch tips of that species. ForMontipora digitata, single branch tips showed the best performance (Osinga et al. 2012). Orientation refers to the position of the
fragment, for example horizontal, vertical (upright or
upside down) or suspended (Fig. 2e–g). Shaish and Rinkevich (2009) and Soong and Chen (2003) found different
morphogenetic patterns resulting from differences in initial
orientation, but the latter authors did not find differences
in growth between branches that had been positioned
upright, upside down or horizontally. Okuboet al.(2005)
found interactive effects between size and orientation (horizontal vs. vertical) with respect to growth and survival rates
of fragments ofAcropora formosa; in contrast to large frag