[Coral-List] Coral immortality

[Ray Berkelmans]

In massive Porites the colony and skeletal age can be up to 1000 years or more old, but the average life expectancy of individual polyps is only about 5 years. This is due to the fan-shape growth and a-sexual reproduction pattern of polyps which eventually overgrow neighbouring polyps. See Darke WM and Barnes DJ. 1993. Growth trajectories of corallites and ages of polyps in massive colonies of reef-building corals of the Genus Porites. Mar Biol 117, 321-326

Cheers

Ray
-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Roy Ducote
Sent: Thursday, 17 March 2011 11:12 PM
To: Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: [Coral-List] Coral immortality

Question from a non- academic:

What is happening at the individual polyp level? Does each polyp go on living or is there regular polyp death and replacement so that the carbonate structure seems immortal but the individual biological organism is not? 

Sent from my iPhone
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