Wow. This picture says it all. This is a huge colony of Pillar Corals at a reef near San Salvador, The Bahamas. Like other stony corals, Pillar Corals are tiny animals that work together in a group to build a giant common foundation of calcium-based minerals. This colony contains hundreds of thousands of these animals living on the surface of this foundation.

The Pillar Coral colony is built in tall columns that lift the animals high above the surrounding reef. As the ocean currents flow through these columns, the tiny animals can reach out into the water to catch their food as it float by.

Each Pillar Coral animal, called a polyp, was about the size of the eraser on a pencil. This colony was about 12 feet tall. Since the polyps can only build about 1/4 of an inch of foundation each year, this colony was probably 600 years old!

In the background you can see ReefNews photographer Tessa Dowell.

Go to the ReefNews website to learn more about Corals, at
http://www.reefnews.com/reefnews/index/corals.html

--------------------

e-ReefNews and embedded illustrations are
Copyright © 2003, ReefNews, Inc.

ReefNews ® is a registered trademark of ReefNews, Inc.