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| | | How Do Stony Corals Grow? |
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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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| MeteoWorld December 2010 now online
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| | The latest MeteoWorld is now online, featuring WMO science news on greenhouse gases, ozone and coral reefs, news from a wide range of workshops and conferences organized by WMO and partners, and an update of new products online. Use this opportunity to explore the updated wmo.int website. | |
Read more at http://www.wmo.int/pages ... x_en.html.
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