According to this article in the Guardian (British newspaper/news Web site), researchers have discovered that coral larvae don't just drift aimlessly, as most people have always assumed. They're actually capable of choosing where to settle, and they prefer to settle on established reefs. The weird part is the way they find reefs - by listening for pistol shrimp, croaking fish, and all the other sounds of a reef.
British and Dutch researchers set up "choice chambers" where the coral larvae could choose between two different environments to settle and attach. When they played underwater recordings of reef sounds on one side of the chamber, coral larvae tended to pick that side.
This could help explain why oil drilling platforms often very quickly turn into artificial reefs. It's not just the fact that they're un-colonized solid structures at the right depth. Apparently, all the clicks, clanks, and roaring engines remind coral larvae of reef sounds. I wonder if live rock "farmers" would get quicker results if they set up underwater speakers playing reef sounds. Could we entice corals to rebuild damaged reefs faster with the same trick?
This appears to be one more case where our activity has completely unforseen consequences. We make a lot of noise in the ocean these days, and we may be luring billions of unsuspecting baby corals to their doom when they settle in non-reef areas. On the other hand, we might not be creating a serious problem. There are trillions of coral larvae out there, and lots of them never found a reef even before we started making noise. We don't know, but without this study, we'd never even have known that our noises could affect the reef-building process.
British and Dutch researchers set up "choice chambers" where the coral larvae could choose between two different environments to settle and attach. When they played underwater recordings of reef sounds on one side of the chamber, coral larvae tended to pick that side.
This could help explain why oil drilling platforms often very quickly turn into artificial reefs. It's not just the fact that they're un-colonized solid structures at the right depth. Apparently, all the clicks, clanks, and roaring engines remind coral larvae of reef sounds. I wonder if live rock "farmers" would get quicker results if they set up underwater speakers playing reef sounds. Could we entice corals to rebuild damaged reefs faster with the same trick?
This appears to be one more case where our activity has completely unforseen consequences. We make a lot of noise in the ocean these days, and we may be luring billions of unsuspecting baby corals to their doom when they settle in non-reef areas. On the other hand, we might not be creating a serious problem. There are trillions of coral larvae out there, and lots of them never found a reef even before we started making noise. We don't know, but without this study, we'd never even have known that our noises could affect the reef-building process.
