How do Gulf corals
beat the heat?
The corals in Abu Dhabi’s coastal water survive, because they
managed to beat the heat. Algae produce sugar that provids up to 90 per cent of
the coral’s energy and in return, the coral provides shelter, nutrients and
carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. Algae and corals rely on each other to survive,
so if one dies the other one won’t be able to feed itself. The coral
essentially spit out the zooxanthellae to protect itself. The coral can live
off its fat reserves for a week, but after that it need to take the algae back
in or it will die. The coral’s white skeleton is made of calcium carbonate, the
same substance as human bones, and is sensitive to changes in water chemistry.
Corals reproduce in one of two ways, ether fragmentation or larval production.
When a piece of coral breaks off, it rolls across the sand, lands somewhere
else and starts growing. Larval production occurs in massive spawning events,
when countless billions of tiny, 1mm-long larval bulbs are released. They also
have a little time to choose a home.
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