Halimeda going sexual pics

[mano]

I was staying with some family in Guam last week and they had a tank set up with some Halimeda in it since it is all over the place there. I had taken a shot of it since the algae was so nice looking, and then noticed the next day that another one of the other plants in the tank had spores on it. It released the spores during the night. Then the last shot is the algae a few days later. A lot of the "sand" in Guam is made up of the Halimeda pieces so I guess after it spawns it eventually breaks apart and becomes part of the sand.






Just thought I'd share it withe eveyone here!

Christine

 

[Samala]

Fantastic photos Christine! Thanks for sharing.

Sediment contributed from Halimeda (and others like it: Udotea, Avrainvillea, Penicillus) make up a large percentage of the sand in many reef areas. I know I've read that in some areas of the Pacific it makes a larger contribution than corals and other invertebrates.

>Sarah