Thank you for signing up to keep in touch with the Coral Conservation Project. Pictured above, you will find your coral frame as it was few days after construction. Your personal page will allow you to see regular updates and amazing facts about the corals and animals living on your frame. By having all the updates on one page, you will be able to track the progress of your frame and see how your contribution is benefiting the ecosystem. If you want to satisfy your curiosity even more, you can take a look at our Marine Blog Life and videos from the Marine Lab Diary or connect with us for more information.
Here is the start of a healthy coral reef relationship!
Have you ever wondered why some corals are more colorful than others… That is because some corals increase the production of colourful protein pigments (such as these purple tips) when they are exposed to more intense sunlight and this colony, of a branching Acropora, is simply amazing. Scientist have found that these pink, blue and/or purple proteins act as sunscreens for the corals by removing substantial light components that might otherwise become harmful to the algae hosted in their tissue. Corals rely on these light-dependent miniature plants, the so-called zooxanthellae, since they provide a substantial amount of food. Furthermore, these tips consist of a particular polyp called an “apical polyp”. It is responsible of the growth of the particular branch. For instance, it will reproduce asexually by cloning itself, potentially an infinite number of times throughout its lifetime. Here and there, one of the “radial polyps” will differentiate becoming a new apical polyp with its distinguished purple color, driving the growth of a new branch.
As you can see from your first post, we have already done the first maintenance on your frame which is to remove the ad cable ties and move the frame with the other frames. Some information about the fragments that we put on your frame, most of them belong to the genus Acropora which is one of the fastest growing corals and almost 149 species described. Over the next few months we will show you some close-up pictures of the fragments with some interesting facts and the creatures that now lives on your frame. After 6 months we will show you the progress of your frame in a new post.
As you can see from your first post, we have already done the first maintenance on your frame which is to remove the additional cable tie ends and move the frame with the other frames for time being. After about a week we will start placing your new spider frame (which is the # of its kind) along the coral rubble reef with other similar frames. You can read more about this initiative in our blog section (https://coralframe.planhotel.com/2019/03/22/taking-corals-back-reef/). Here is some information about the fragments that we put on your frame, most of them belong to the genus Acropora which is one of the fastest growing corals and almost 149 species described. These are mostly the branching ones, and the larger rounder ones belong to the family of giant corals. Over the next few months we will show you some close-up pictures of the fragments we attached onto your frame with some interesting facts and the creatures that now lives on your frame. After 6 months we will show you the progress of your frame in a new post.
