June 1st,
2014- Day 2 at Lady Elliot Island
After a quick breakfast, we began our day learning bout the biology of corals. Interesting right???? Actually, it was. There are over 600 species for coral. I originally denied that corals were a living species. I thought it was a pretty plant that lived under the water. I’ll admit I was wrong, very wrong. Corals eat, breathe, attack and reproduce. Joe showed us a video of coral spawning, where the coral releases sperm and egg to reproduce. Coral spawning occurs one time a year, around November or December. Why you ask? Since Australia is in the southern hemisphere, the water is warmer in America’s “winter months”. Our winter is their summer. Coral release their eggs and sperm at the same time, in sync. If not, they will miss the opportunity to reproduce. Joe said you can tell when spawning occurs… it smells. If the smell is too strong, lifeguards will shut down beaches during spawning season; however, it is uncommon.
They also eat and breathe. I did not know that. Joe showed us a video of coral eating shrimp. Coral will swallow small species to gain energy. In addition, corals technically breathe. They get their oxygen from the water.
When I say they attack, it’s interesting. When different species of coral are close together, they will make war. They compete for resources such as sunlight. There are two types of competition: direct and indirect. Direct competition is when coral releases stinging cnidae, also known as their stinging cells. Indirect competition varies from points of attachment and over growth by growing on top of other corals. Enrusting corals are known for over growing, over and out, to compete for space. Scientists usually have a hard time using terminology that is easy to interpret to those not as educated on the topic. Nevertheless, Joe
After a quick breakfast, we began our day learning bout the biology of corals. Interesting right???? Actually, it was. There are over 600 species for coral. I originally denied that corals were a living species. I thought it was a pretty plant that lived under the water. I’ll admit I was wrong, very wrong. Corals eat, breathe, attack and reproduce. Joe showed us a video of coral spawning, where the coral releases sperm and egg to reproduce. Coral spawning occurs one time a year, around November or December. Why you ask? Since Australia is in the southern hemisphere, the water is warmer in America’s “winter months”. Our winter is their summer. Coral release their eggs and sperm at the same time, in sync. If not, they will miss the opportunity to reproduce. Joe said you can tell when spawning occurs… it smells. If the smell is too strong, lifeguards will shut down beaches during spawning season; however, it is uncommon.
They also eat and breathe. I did not know that. Joe showed us a video of coral eating shrimp. Coral will swallow small species to gain energy. In addition, corals technically breathe. They get their oxygen from the water.
When I say they attack, it’s interesting. When different species of coral are close together, they will make war. They compete for resources such as sunlight. There are two types of competition: direct and indirect. Direct competition is when coral releases stinging cnidae, also known as their stinging cells. Indirect competition varies from points of attachment and over growth by growing on top of other corals. Enrusting corals are known for over growing, over and out, to compete for space. Scientists usually have a hard time using terminology that is easy to interpret to those not as educated on the topic. Nevertheless, Joe
We dove in as a group and followed our tour guide, Dr. Fabrice. Now that I am scuba certified, it is easy to compare and contrast the experience with snorkeling. At times, I wanted so bad to swim down, stay down and take a picture. With the wet suit as a flotation device, no weights to keep me down, oh and no oxygen tank to allow me to breathe, I could only be under the water for less than a minute.
Regardless, snorkeling was still exciting. The reason why it was really exciting is because I got to see a SHARK!!!! A black tip reef shark to be exact. I'm so happy I get to check off "swim with sharks" on my bucket list. To say the least, I've been able to check off a lot of things on my bucket list while being here, in Australia.Now that I have done 2 snorkel dives, I'm ready to scuba dive! I signed up to scuba dive tomorrow! I CANNOT WAIT.
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