PART-1 of 4
Corals Need More Than A Lot of Light
Contrary to popular belief, a vast majority of corals are not AUTOTROPHIC, requiring only light to survive. AUTOTROPHS produce their own food from inorganic material they extract from their surrounding environment, usually using sunlight to synthesize it with the aid of ZOOXANTHELLAE algae.
In reality, most corals are HETEROTROPIC organisms, depending at least partly on actively feeding, or, obsorbing nutrients from the surrounding water as well as AUTOTROPHIC nutrition. Most corals are MIXOTROPHIC in that they utilize both autorophic and heterotrophic methods of feeding to survive.
Corals are said to be unlike any other critter in that such a large portion of their body is devoted to capturing food. If you think of the world's oceans as "The Big Soup", you would be right. The ocenas are the personification of the term "food Chain". Everything from microscopic bacteria to the fishes in the sea is there. The zooanthellae contained in coral polyps provide a wide range of materials needed by the coral, but coral feeding must supply the balance of the nutrients and vitamins required for metabolism and growth.
It is now believed that symbiotic (AUTOTROPHIC) corals, as a group, obtain from 20 - 50% of their food from heterotrophic feeding on plankton and dissoved organic materials. Some hard corals can obtain 200 - 300% of their basic energy needs from heterotrophic feeding while most meet more than 100% of their needs in this manner. Octocorals and Zoanthids can meet 10 - 100% of their needs in this manner. Not only is intake in excess of basic energy needs required for reproduction and growth, it also increases the respiration rate of the entire colony, leading to an even greater increase in growth rates.
(CONT. PART-2)
Corals Need More Than A Lot of Light
Contrary to popular belief, a vast majority of corals are not AUTOTROPHIC, requiring only light to survive. AUTOTROPHS produce their own food from inorganic material they extract from their surrounding environment, usually using sunlight to synthesize it with the aid of ZOOXANTHELLAE algae.
In reality, most corals are HETEROTROPIC organisms, depending at least partly on actively feeding, or, obsorbing nutrients from the surrounding water as well as AUTOTROPHIC nutrition. Most corals are MIXOTROPHIC in that they utilize both autorophic and heterotrophic methods of feeding to survive.
Corals are said to be unlike any other critter in that such a large portion of their body is devoted to capturing food. If you think of the world's oceans as "The Big Soup", you would be right. The ocenas are the personification of the term "food Chain". Everything from microscopic bacteria to the fishes in the sea is there. The zooanthellae contained in coral polyps provide a wide range of materials needed by the coral, but coral feeding must supply the balance of the nutrients and vitamins required for metabolism and growth.
It is now believed that symbiotic (AUTOTROPHIC) corals, as a group, obtain from 20 - 50% of their food from heterotrophic feeding on plankton and dissoved organic materials. Some hard corals can obtain 200 - 300% of their basic energy needs from heterotrophic feeding while most meet more than 100% of their needs in this manner. Octocorals and Zoanthids can meet 10 - 100% of their needs in this manner. Not only is intake in excess of basic energy needs required for reproduction and growth, it also increases the respiration rate of the entire colony, leading to an even greater increase in growth rates.
(CONT. PART-2)