Coral Reef Environment

Only eggs or only sperm study been seen for many other species. This suggests the front end of unisexual colonies or colonies that undergo sex change as they age. This indicates cross-fertilization for species such as Acropora durvillei, Turbinaria species, Sphneotrochus rubescens, Coenopsammia species, Acropora plamata, Isophyllia sinuosa, Montastrea cavernosa, Sideratrea radians, and Symphyllia recta, as well as Pavona cactus.

Fertilization may be privileged or external. Reproduction may be seasonal or continue throughout the year. The release of planwas shown to have a pronounced lunar periodicity in Pocillopora bulbosa. Winter spawning of this species coincided with the full moon, plot of ground summer and autumn spawning coincided with the new moon. Agarica fragilis in the Bermudan Atlantic Ocean and Manicina atomic number 18olata in the Tortugas Atlantic Ocean only released planulae in summer. The Hawaiian precious corals Pocillopora damicornis and Cyphastrea ocellina released planulae every month of the year.

Corals with large polyps tend to have many eggs per polyp. Favia doreyensis of Low Isles had a minimum of 93 eggs. Porites haddoni varied from 6 to 250 planulae per colony. Pocillopora bulbosa had from 1 to 100 planulae per colony ground upon collection of a group of branches. Thus, a moderate size colony may produce a few yard planulae (eggs) per breeding season.

newlyly released planulae may swim upward and towards the light. around planulae swim away from

Endean, R. and O. A. J peerlesss, Eds. biology and Geology of Reef Corals. New York: Academic Press, 1973.

Fleming, C. B. "The Coral Polyp." Science 80 1, 7 (November 1980): 105-106.

Reef environments may include cancel enemies of the corals. These enemies either remove the living coral tissue or they delve into the coral and weaken it. Starfish such as A idlerthaster planci can consume an entire small colony of coral; split of larger colonies are usually left uneaten. Other natural enemies include echinoids, annelid worms, copepods, cirripedes, crabs, gastropod mollusks, and fish. There are also cases of one coral species attacking another coral species.

Reef coral taxonomy has not reached a definitive stage yet.

However, it can be said that the western Atlantic region contains "a relatively homogeneous faunal assemblage of hermatypic scleractinian species." Areas that this holds true for include the Caribbean Sea, the Greater and lesser Antilles, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and southern Florida. Large barrier reefs are present tense in the Caribbean, off the coast of British Honduras, and there are fringing reefs off the narrow insular shelf along Jamaica's conglutination coast. River runoff and the detrimental effects of the high seas may apologise the absence of coral reefs off the north coast of Puerto Rico.

Corals begin fastest with maximum light--calcification rates were found to be two-fold on sunny days when compared to cloudy days. Heavy make out can be lethal to corals. Deep water species emerge adapted to low light. Corals may compete for space in the light; indirect interference of Acropora by blending out Montipora has been shown.

Melzak, M. "Chemical Warfare on the Coral Reef." New Scientist 89, 1245 (19 March 1981): 733-735.

The actual coral polyp is a double-walled cylinder. At the top of the polyp is a mouth with tentacles. The tentacles trap plankton, the victuals source of the corals. The coral polyp produces limy secre
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