How did coral evolve?
Corals are 500 million years old, and date back to the late Cambrian period, during the Paleozoic era (Fig. 1). Evidence suggests that they started as simple, solitary organisms but, in response to changes in their environment, later evolved into the coral reefs we know today.
How fast do coral frags grow?
It takes 1 to to 2 years for a new reefer to get a new tank up to where thing will grow at a nice rate. Even then, a change in light, alk or something can change that in a day with some coral.
How do corals propagate?
With hard corals, it’s as simple as cutting off a branch and attaching it to a new surface with glue or fishing line. The branch will then begin to grow into a brand new hard coral. In zoas, which are soft coral, you cut between the polyps and attach the new mat onto the surface.
What is coral made from?
Most structures that we call “coral” are, in fact, made up of hundreds to thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps. Each soft-bodied polyp—most no thicker than a nickel—secretes a hard outer skeleton of limestone (calcium carbonate) that attaches either to rock or the dead skeletons of other polyps.
How does coral produce oxygen?
Most corals, like other cnidarians, contain a symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae, within their gastrodermal cells. In return, the algae produce oxygen and help the coral to remove wastes. Most importantly, they supply the coral with organic products of photosynthesis.
What plants grow in the coral reef?
Besides zooxanthellae, algae and seagrasses are the main types of plants in the coral reef ecosystem. These plants give food and oxygen to the animals that live on the reef. Seagrasses are especially important because they provide shelter for juvenile reef animals like conch and lobster.
Can corals feel pain?
“I feel a little bad about it,” Burmester, a vegetarian, says of the infliction, even though she knows that the coral’s primitive nervous system almost certainly can’t feel pain, and its cousins in the wild endure all sorts of injuries from predators, storms, and humans.