How long do zoa's live?
- Thread starter maxalmon
- Start date
bacchus_fl
Member
As long as they are in the right conditions and not taken over by another coral, I would assume forever. They constantly multiply and I have never seen the original few die off. I have some colonies that started with 4 or 5 polyps 10 years ago. They are now 200 or so with no die off that I know off.
I would definitely be interested if somebody knows different.
I would definitely be interested if somebody knows different.
reefkprz
Active Member
after doing some research I have to change my statement it all depends on the species, I have to dig some more to find defintite spans.
heres one
Alcyonium sp.: Soft coral Life span:30yrs
age of sexual maturity:2
researched by: McFadden 1991
another
Leptogorgia virgulata:Gorgonian Life span:81years Age of sexual maturity:3
researched by: Gotelli 1991
this is from the florida fish and wildlife institute
How long does stony coral live?
Coral has a life span like all organisms. The question of coral life span is really two questions: 1) How long does the whole coral colony live? 2) How long does an individual coral animal (polyp) live?
1) 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 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.
2) 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. 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. The 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.
heres one
Alcyonium sp.: Soft coral Life span:30yrs
age of sexual maturity:2
researched by: McFadden 1991
another
Leptogorgia virgulata:Gorgonian Life span:81years Age of sexual maturity:3
researched by: Gotelli 1991
this is from the florida fish and wildlife institute
How long does stony coral live?
Coral has a life span like all organisms. The question of coral life span is really two questions: 1) How long does the whole coral colony live? 2) How long does an individual coral animal (polyp) live?
1) 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 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.
2) 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. 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. The 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.
reefkprz
Active Member
more
The Scleractinian Desmophyllum cristagalli lives to <200 years
from
Lifespans and growth patterns of two deep-sea corals: Primnoa resedaeformis and Desmophyllum cristagalli
Journal Hydrobiologia
Publisher Springer Netherlands
ISSN 0018-8158 (Print) 1573-5117 (Online)
Subject Biomedical and Life Sciences and Earth and Environmental Science
Issue Volume 471, Numbers 1-3 / March, 2002
DOI 10.1023/A:1016557405185
Pages 125-131
SpringerLink Date Tuesday, November 02, 2004
The Scleractinian Desmophyllum cristagalli lives to <200 years
from
Lifespans and growth patterns of two deep-sea corals: Primnoa resedaeformis and Desmophyllum cristagalli
Journal Hydrobiologia
Publisher Springer Netherlands
ISSN 0018-8158 (Print) 1573-5117 (Online)
Subject Biomedical and Life Sciences and Earth and Environmental Science
Issue Volume 471, Numbers 1-3 / March, 2002
DOI 10.1023/A:1016557405185
Pages 125-131
SpringerLink Date Tuesday, November 02, 2004
reefkprz
Active Member
Everything I can find on Zoanthids and palythoas indicates a possible indefinite lifespan for colonies while individual polyps seem to have a finite lifespan that I cant seem to nail down yet. (I will edit this when I find better info) since they regrow where one has died off the death is usually unnoticed.
It could be that I wount find it because there are a million things we dont know about our oceans this could be one of them. but give me time, I'm on a mission!
here is some research showing estimation of hundreds of years for zoanthid colonies, since it is requested that additional copying not be done all I can tell you is where to look, google
Responses of Clonal Reef Taxa to Environmental Change1
HOWARD R. LASKER2 AND MARY ALICE COFFROTH
if your interested, these people have Nailed down their research and cited all sources. its more on environmental change but hey every little bit helps. still cant nail down individual polyp age.
It could be that I wount find it because there are a million things we dont know about our oceans this could be one of them. but give me time, I'm on a mission!
here is some research showing estimation of hundreds of years for zoanthid colonies, since it is requested that additional copying not be done all I can tell you is where to look, google
Responses of Clonal Reef Taxa to Environmental Change1
HOWARD R. LASKER2 AND MARY ALICE COFFROTH
if your interested, these people have Nailed down their research and cited all sources. its more on environmental change but hey every little bit helps. still cant nail down individual polyp age.
reefkprz
Active Member
Thats fun!
I can speed read so it takes me 3 minutes to blast through the same amount of information that a person who reads at regular speed would take a half hour. Unfortunalty with speed reading half the information is lost once the short term memory kicks over, so often I have to slow myself down and read things at regular speed (for retention purposes), but for digging up facts its great. I can sift through a ton of garbage then read the good articles/pages at regular speed.
I can speed read so it takes me 3 minutes to blast through the same amount of information that a person who reads at regular speed would take a half hour. Unfortunalty with speed reading half the information is lost once the short term memory kicks over, so often I have to slow myself down and read things at regular speed (for retention purposes), but for digging up facts its great. I can sift through a ton of garbage then read the good articles/pages at regular speed.