does coral have a life expectancy??
- Thread starter Ian
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JustinReef
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Found this:
1) How long does the whole coral colony live? The answer depends on the species. One of the small stony corals named Favia fragum, which never grows larger than a golf ball, has a life span of about five to ten years. The star coral Montastraea annularis may live for several centuries and grow to the size of an automobile. Its growth rate ranges from about 5 to 15 mm (1/4 to 3/4 of an inch) of yearly, outward expansion. Among shallow water coral, boulder-shaped colonies grow more slowly, and live longer than branching coral colonies.
2) How long does an individual coral animal (polyp) live? Once again, the answer depends on what the species. In general, polyps on a bumpy colony have a short life span, and polyps on a smooth colony have a long life span. A polyp grows outward in a basically straight line. You can see this on corals that are broken in half. The polyp skeleton (corallite) looks like a straw, and the polyp was living on the very top of the straw. The whole colony is like a bundle of straws. On bumpy colonies some of these polyps are “aimed toward†other polyps. They get closer and closer as the polyps grow, and eventually they meet. One will live the other will die. This is what determines the life span of individual polyps on a bumpy colony. The life span of an individual polyp on Porites (a common bumpy coral) is about 2-3 years. A good source for polyp life span is W.M. Darke and D.J. Barnes' "Growth Trajectories of Corallites and Ages of Polyps in Massive Colonies of Reef-building Corals of the Genus Porites," Mar. Biol. 117:321-326, 1993.
1) How long does the whole coral colony live? The answer depends on the species. One of the small stony corals named Favia fragum, which never grows larger than a golf ball, has a life span of about five to ten years. The star coral Montastraea annularis may live for several centuries and grow to the size of an automobile. Its growth rate ranges from about 5 to 15 mm (1/4 to 3/4 of an inch) of yearly, outward expansion. Among shallow water coral, boulder-shaped colonies grow more slowly, and live longer than branching coral colonies.
2) How long does an individual coral animal (polyp) live? Once again, the answer depends on what the species. In general, polyps on a bumpy colony have a short life span, and polyps on a smooth colony have a long life span. A polyp grows outward in a basically straight line. You can see this on corals that are broken in half. The polyp skeleton (corallite) looks like a straw, and the polyp was living on the very top of the straw. The whole colony is like a bundle of straws. On bumpy colonies some of these polyps are “aimed toward†other polyps. They get closer and closer as the polyps grow, and eventually they meet. One will live the other will die. This is what determines the life span of individual polyps on a bumpy colony. The life span of an individual polyp on Porites (a common bumpy coral) is about 2-3 years. A good source for polyp life span is W.M. Darke and D.J. Barnes' "Growth Trajectories of Corallites and Ages of Polyps in Massive Colonies of Reef-building Corals of the Genus Porites," Mar. Biol. 117:321-326, 1993.
aastretch64
New member
I read an article about 3 weeks ago, you can find some by searching "800 year old coral" on google, that discussed bleaching of an 800 year old coral colony.
So how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop....one....two....three......three.
Alex
So how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop....one....two....three......three.
Alex
JustinReef
New member
One year is not right, somethings wrong there!
greenbean36191
Premium Member
Well in theory most corals are immortal. In practice, the wild isn't a friendly place, so they don't live forever. The answers Justin found are great. Given an ideal setting in captivity and barring disasters, almost all of your corals could outlive you.
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