If you’ve ever wondered how a coral works, how it really works in terms that are analogous to a machine, it all boils down to respiration and photosynthesis. Both R & P can be evaluated by measuring oxygen levels, but when dealing with the small amounts that corals produce, and the variability in lighting, flow rate, surface area and zooxanthellae density of corals, trying to figure out what corals are really doing is quite the challenge. To this end, Tim Wijgerde of CoralScience has written an article which is a fascinating read for learning more about how corals work, and what kind of tools and metrics are used to make understand the “Holobiont” that is a photosynthetic coral colony.
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