The Australian Institute of Marine Science has released a time lapse video of Davies Reef in Australia which shows this little patch of the GBR over a period of 18 months. The image quality used to compose the time lapse is not going to make the cover of NatGeo magazine but it is still very impressive to watch how much coral mass is grown by three different species of Acropora in this small little section.
The spot to point the time lapse camera was perfectly chosen, in our view, to showcase a table Acropora, a staghorn acro, and a pillow shaped (corymbose) species. By watching these three different colony forms of Acropora growing side by side it’s wild to imagine not just how fast these corals grow, but the sheer massive quantities of minerals that these animals pull from the water and turn to a solid right on the reef.
We are a big fan of coral, reef & aquarium time lapse videos not only because they are really cool, but they allow us reefers to see things on a scale which is at the opposite end of the spectrum from what we’re used to with our aquariums. While we look at our corals all throughout the day and might perceive changes and growth periodically, this rare time lapse of a real reef growing is something else. [AIMS]
