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| February 2016 Photo by Basil Bohn |
Corals are the oldest animals on the ocean scene; some
species have been studied to live 4,000 plus years.[1]
Coral life begins as a free-swimming planula larva, who is carried by the ocean
currents and drifts until it finds a suitable hard surface on which to attach.
After successful attachment, if they are left undisturbed and ocean conditions
are right, the coral will began to build a coral colony – secreting calcium
carbonate into a wild mansion of natural architectural genius which can hold
thousands of coral polyps in its rooms. In an ensuing symbiotic relationship,
photosynthetic zooxanthellae algae will coat the surface of the coral colonies
Of the over 25,000 species of coral, 800 are hard coral.
Slow growing and complex in their lifecycle, hard corals grow anywhere in
between 5mm and 20cm a year. Out of these 800 plus species, about 250 are from
the branching coral family of Acropora – a lovely family which displays their
unique differences both boldly through
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| May 2016 Photo by Basil Bohn |
The TRACC ribbon reef is planted with a variety of these
subtly distinctive Acropora corals. Such
as the Acropora parilis, the blue tipped and branching hard coral photographed
here in February and again in early May. The growth and successful attachment
is pleasantly and gratifyingly visible in the less than 3 month span of the two
photos.
However, ocean lovers, divers and boat drivers beware – when
trying to photograph again this week, we found our lovely coral animal in two.
Saddened by the sight and the possibilities of lost life, I’ll be sure to be
extra careful of the tread of my footsteps and the flap of my fins.
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| Growth of Acropora Coral Shown Through Overlay of Photos Photo by Basil Bohn |
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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org
For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +
If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org
For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +
Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from
GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.
If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow their projects on Facebook.