The Mediterranean coral Cladocora caespitosa: a proxy for past climate fluctuations?

Sclerochronology was applied to recent, Holocene and Pleistocene samples of Cladocora caespitosa. Late Pliocene samples were recrystallised and thus unsuitable for sclerochronology. Quaternary samples showed a clear, alternating banding pattern as in the living coral, confirming a marked seasonality of past climate. The computed mean annual growth rates ranged from 2.1 to 6.9 mm year−1, with highest growth rates during the warmer phase (isotope stage 5e) of the first climate cycle. It is hypothesised that the largest fossil banks of C. caespitosa grew in a coastal environment with considerable alluvial inputs and warmer temperatures than today.