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 ID# : 59896
 Visits: 10624
 Added: 11-Jun-2004
 Updated: 11-Jun-2004
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 John Everett
 Lamarr Trott
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How Do Stony Corals Grow? Maintained by NOAA  
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How Do Stony Corals Grow?
 
Most stony corals have very small polyps, averaging 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter, but entire colonies can grow very large and weigh several tons. As they grow, these reefs provide structural habitats for hundreds to thousands of different vertebrate and invertebrate species. The skeletons of stony corals are secreted by the lower portion of the polyp. This process produces a cup, or calyx, in which the polyp sits. The walls surrounding the cup are called the theca, and the floor is called the basal plate. Periodically, a polyp will lift off its base and secrete a new basal plate above the old one, creating a small chamber in the skeleton. While the colony is alive, CaCO3 is deposited, adding partitions and elevating the coral. Coral species number in the thousands, and stony corals take on several characteristic forms. Reefs form when polyps secrete skeletons of calcium carbonate
 
 
 
 
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To develop a vision for the future for these unique ecosystems and the peoples who depend on them for their livelihood. It seeks to put in place strategies and projects to preserve the biodiversity of the reefs and for the future development of the economic and environmental services that they offer both locally and globally. Coral Reef Initiative for the Pacific (CRISP) To develop a vision for the future for these unique ecosystems and the peoples ...  
Recognizing an urgent need to increase awareness and understanding of coral reefs, and to further conserve and manage valuable coral reef and associated ecosystems, the International Coral Reef Initiative designated 2008 as the International Year of the Reef (IYOR 2008) International Year of the Reef 2008 Recognizing an urgent need to increase awareness and understanding of coral ree...  
map based analysis of threats to coral reefs Reefs at Risk Caribbean map based analysis of threats to coral reefs 
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