How long do corals live?
- Thread starter zoie2
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oceana
Active Member
Originally Posted by zoie2
Just out of curiosity. I've seen pictures of the zoos and they're like a carpet. How long do each of those polyps live? Will one die and be replaced by another or do they live for years? :notsure:
as far as we know they dont have a life cycle. this is why keeping thing like an anemone for a few years is far from success when you consider they would live forever"as far as we know" in the wild
Just out of curiosity. I've seen pictures of the zoos and they're like a carpet. How long do each of those polyps live? Will one die and be replaced by another or do they live for years? :notsure:
as far as we know they dont have a life cycle. this is why keeping thing like an anemone for a few years is far from success when you consider they would live forever"as far as we know" in the wild
oceana
Active Member
QUOTE
"How long does the whole coral colony live? The answer depends on the species. One of the small stony corals named Favia fragum, which never grows larger than a golf ball, has a life span of about five to ten years. The star coral Montastraea annularis may live for several centuries and grow to the size of an automobile. Its growth rate ranges from about 5 mm to 15 mm (1/4 to 3/4 of an inch) of yearly, outward expansion. Among shallow water coral, boulder-shaped colonies grow more slowly, and live longer than branching coral colonies.
How long does an individual coral animal (polyp) live? Once again, the answer depends on what the species. In general, polyps on a bumpy colony have a short life span, and polyps on a smooth colony have a long life span. Here’s why: A polyp grows outward in a basically straight line. You can see this on corals that are broken in half. The polyp skeleton (corallite) looks like a straw, and the polyp was living on the very top of the straw. The whole colony is like a bundle of straws. On bumpy colonies some of these polyps are “aimed toward” other polyps. They get closer and closer as the polyps grow, and eventually they meet. One will live the other will die. This is what determines the life span of individual polyps on a bumpy colony. Life span of an individual polyp on Porites (a common bumpy coral) is about 2–3 years. A good source for polyp life span is; W.M. Darke and D.J. Barnes, Growth trajectories of corallites and ages of polyps in massive colonies of reef-building corals of the genus Porites, Mar. Biol. 117:321–326, 1993.
OK, what about smooth colonies? Well the corallites are essentially the same. On smooth colonies none of the polyps are “aimed toward” each other, they are all “aimed” outwards. Polyps on a smooth colony do not have to die as the colony grows. The best example in the Caribbean is a brain coral named Colpophyllia natans. Presumably, the very first polyp on a colony of this brain coral is living somewhere on a 400-year-old colony. "
"How long does the whole coral colony live? The answer depends on the species. One of the small stony corals named Favia fragum, which never grows larger than a golf ball, has a life span of about five to ten years. The star coral Montastraea annularis may live for several centuries and grow to the size of an automobile. Its growth rate ranges from about 5 mm to 15 mm (1/4 to 3/4 of an inch) of yearly, outward expansion. Among shallow water coral, boulder-shaped colonies grow more slowly, and live longer than branching coral colonies.
How long does an individual coral animal (polyp) live? Once again, the answer depends on what the species. In general, polyps on a bumpy colony have a short life span, and polyps on a smooth colony have a long life span. Here’s why: A polyp grows outward in a basically straight line. You can see this on corals that are broken in half. The polyp skeleton (corallite) looks like a straw, and the polyp was living on the very top of the straw. The whole colony is like a bundle of straws. On bumpy colonies some of these polyps are “aimed toward” other polyps. They get closer and closer as the polyps grow, and eventually they meet. One will live the other will die. This is what determines the life span of individual polyps on a bumpy colony. Life span of an individual polyp on Porites (a common bumpy coral) is about 2–3 years. A good source for polyp life span is; W.M. Darke and D.J. Barnes, Growth trajectories of corallites and ages of polyps in massive colonies of reef-building corals of the genus Porites, Mar. Biol. 117:321–326, 1993.
OK, what about smooth colonies? Well the corallites are essentially the same. On smooth colonies none of the polyps are “aimed toward” each other, they are all “aimed” outwards. Polyps on a smooth colony do not have to die as the colony grows. The best example in the Caribbean is a brain coral named Colpophyllia natans. Presumably, the very first polyp on a colony of this brain coral is living somewhere on a 400-year-old colony. "
