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I wonder if, like forests, corals tend to colonize an area first with fast growing species, which then get slowly replaced by longer lived species (forest succe
by BariumBlue 4y ago
I wonder if, like forests, corals tend to colonize an area first with fast growing species, which then get slowly replaced by longer lived species (forest succession). I understand that it takes a while for a forest to go from clean-field to a fully matured forest though.
- h0l0cube 4y agoAs with the loss of old-growth forests that's happening today, we risk species loss, and hence biodiversity. Re-population is predicated on an extant population, a return to suitable conditions, and for the pioneer species to die off. The problem is that, in sustained adverse conditions, the pioneer species may outlive the surviving population of the threatened species.
- ggm 4y agoThe faster growing kind is highly susceptible to the crown of thorns starfish so this causes a cycle of explosive growth in the starfish population, which in turn kills the coral it feeds off.
- snickmy 4y agoTIL : https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2016/04/forest-succession-and-management/#:~:text=Forest%20succession%20is%20simply%20the,allowing%20longer%20lived%20plants%20dominance https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2016/04/forest-succession-and....
- jrslv 4y agoYes, the branching corals are the fast-growing early colonisers. The habitat they create is attractive for fish and invertebrates. Together they make up a reef ecosystem. The resilient reef-building massive corals typically appear on the reef later and grow much slower.