2012-01-10
Mushroom corals overcome live burial through pulsed inflation
Publication
Publication
Coral reefs , Volume 31 - Issue 2 p. 399- 399
Sedimentation represents a major stressor for scleractinian corals. Although many coral species exhibit the capacity of active sediment rejection (Stafford-Smith and Ormond 1992), only few are capable of freeing themselves after becoming completely buried. Fungiid corals appear to be an exception, as they can remove sediments through substantial polyp inflation (up to five times their normal size) in addition to mucus entanglement and ciliary action (Schuhmacher 1977). Using time-lapse photography (speeding up time 300×), we observed that this inflation occurs in rhythmic pulses (Fig. 1), allowing corals to completely exhume themselves after becoming covered in sand.
| Additional Metadata | |
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| doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0862-z | |
| Coral reefs | |
| Organisation | Staff publications |
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Bongaerts, P., Hoeksema, B., Hay, K. B., & Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2012). Mushroom corals overcome live burial through pulsed inflation. Coral reefs, 31(2), 399–399. doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0862-z |
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