 by Clayton B. Cook, Ph.D. Division of Marine Science, HARBOR BRANCH OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION |
The waters from Florida Bay typically have elevated nutrient levels and are
more turbid than waters on the inner edge of the reef tract. In addition,
Florida Bay typically has greater extremes of salinity and temperature.
Dr. Cook was able to use signals from the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that grow in coral tissue to indicate whether the corals had experienced differences in nutrient and turbidity exposure at the two sites. (Right) A cored coral head used to obtain samples for the experiment. (Photo by Dr. Erich Mueller) 
(Left) A schematic representation of a typical coral polyp. Thousands of these carnivorous polyps cover the calcium carbonate skeleton of many types of corals. Hermatypic (reef building) corals are unique in that they have symbiotic algae cells called zooxanthellae embedded within their tissues which help process the coral's waste products, provide food and nutrients for the coral tissues, and enhance calcification of the coral's skeleton. |
Close Window