‘Aquacultural Transformation’ Installation No. 1 at the Southeast Financial Center lobby, downtown Miami.
In the first installment of our Knight Foundation-funded public art series Aquacultural Transformation, we have been commissioned by the owners of the Southeast Financial Center in downtown Miami to curate the new HD video-wall in the lobby. The video-wall is comprised of twenty-five 55″ screens, measuring 23′ x 14′ in total size, making it one of the largest HD walls in Florida. We have produced a series of coral films for Aquacultural Transformation that will run during the morning hours of 7-10 a.m for the next six months. Our goal was to create a technicolor, aquatic ambiance in the lobby that engages and relaxes workers before the start of a hectic work day – therefore acting as an antidote against the 24-hour barrage of news and financial information that these workers are constantly subjected to. A primary component of the Aquaculture Transformation project is to convey that that the essence of the coral reef is literally infused into the concrete limestone infrastructure of every building in the Magic City. And thus the modern pop-cultural iconography of Miami is ultimately reflective of the neon diversity of our native coral reefs. This can be represented no better than the opening sequence to ‘Miami Vice’, in which the Southeast Financial Center is featured prominently in the last shot.
A fluorescent green flower anemone (Epicystis crucifer) releases sperm into the water column at the Coral Morphologic lab.
On May 24th we observed this fluorescent green flower anemone (Epicystis crucifer) spawning in our lab, and managed to film the event. The anemone continued to release sperm for nearly 30 minutes, while several other nearby flower anemones released significantly smaller amounts of gametes. This was the second time we have witnessed a flower anemone spawning event at our lab this spring. We first observed a synchronous spawn of more than a dozen anemones in an outdoor aquaculture system that receives natural sunlight on April 12th. After the jump are photos of anemones spawning during this event.
From August 19 – September 4 we will exhibit public projections in the city center of Cairns, Australia as part of Cairns Festival 2011. Under the direction of Morphologic collaborator Michael F. McPeake, Underwater Worlds celebrates Cairns’ intimate relationship with the coral reef. Showing alongside our films is Australia’s seminal underwater documentary Invisible Wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, shot in 1961 by Noel and Kitty Monkman off the coast of Cairns.
This past week our short film ‘Oyster Vision’ was included in the second episode of Adult Swim‘s new ten-minute mind-boggle of a show, Off the Air. The episode is titled ‘Food’, check it out above.
We are psyched to share that a selection of our Natural History films will screen on ATP TV during this upcoming weekend’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival as curated by Animal Collective, in Minehead, UK. This will be the first international exhibition of our work; read more about the festival here.
‘Man O War’ Physalia physalis
Film and Aquarium: Coral Morphologic
Original Soundtrack: Geologist
In this special installment of our Natural History film series, Geologist soundtracks a macroscopic view of a Portuguese man-o-war’s beautiful, yet highly venomous tentacles.
The man-o-war is often mistaken as a jellyfish, but this is not the case. It does not swim, but is instead propelled by the winds, tides and currents across the ocean’s surface. In fact, a man-o-war is not even a single organism, but an entire colony of organisms called siphonophores, that live together as a singular unit. They are found floating across all of the world’s tropical and subtropical oceans. Even more impressive is that the man-o-war colony is comprised of four different types of polyps, called zooids, that each serve a different purpose to the overall functioning of the colony.
We are proud to announce the fifth release in our South Florida-centric 7″ vinyl series; ‘Slave Exchange’ b/w ‘Sweetwater’, from Miami’s Lil Daggers. The wax is a limited edition run of 100 copies in black vinyl, with a wheat-pasted photo on each individual sleeve affixed by the band. As usual, we have rubber stamped our corallimorph logo onto the b-side of the center-sticker and stamped/ numbered the a-side.
The release party will be held within a party: Saturday, January 16th @ the 2nd annual Sweatstock. Check out the set times for a bigger picture of the event – many amazing bands will perform, including Discosoma’s Lil Daggers, Beings, and Guy Harvey. The 7″ will be available at Sweat Records exclusively Saturday, which is also Record Store Day. After Saturday, you can pick up the record at Sweat as well as the Coral Morphologic store.
We are psyched to announce the fourth release in our South Florida-centric 7″ vinyl series; the debut 7″ (‘Big Problem’ / ‘Dead Gulf’) from Miami’s ANR. Typical of our 7″ singles, the record is a limited edition run of 100 copies in black vinyl with individually lino-block printed sleeve art by the band. We have rubber stamped our corallimorph logo onto the b-side of the center-sticker and stamped/ numbered the a-side.
Little Munich in Lake Worth is graciously hosting the 7″ release party this Saturday, January 15th, featuring live sets from ANR, Beings, the band in Heaven, and Sumsun. We will have the record for sale for $8 at the release party and at the run of ANR performances supporting Washed Out the following week (including a Miami show). A portion of the remaining records will be going to Rough Trade’s London shop and to Sweat Records in Miami. The rest will be available at the Coral Morphologic store.
‘Cassiopeia 2’ | 407 Building | Lincoln Road | Miami Beach – Dec. 2-5, 2010
From December 2-5, we presented Artificial Reef, a series of large-scale video projections of corals, on three prominent buildings on Miami Beach. The concept of Artificial Reef was built around the premise that most of Miami’s infrastructure is comprised of fossilized coral reef limestone. The purpose of the project, (funded with a generous grant from the Knight Foundation) was to highlight this overlooked relationship of the city of Miami with its coral reefs. Our goal was to recolonize the city with a ‘living veneer’ of corals encrusted onto the artificial reef that is Miami Beach.
We are infinitely excited to announce our first public art project: Artificial Reef, a nightly projection series showcasing local coral reef-life in massive scale on prominent buildings across Miami Beach from December second to the fifth. The concrete used in constructing these buildings is largely composed of the pulverized fossils of coral and marine life that once colonized South Florida when submerged in millennia past. The Artificial Reef projections will “encrust” and “colonize” the Wolfsonian Museum, the 407 Building, and the Art Deco Welcome Center facades like rocks of the reef. Artificial Reef has been made possible by a generous grant from the Knight Foundation.
During the week/end we will have an accompanying solo show of of our multi-media works at the Art Deco Welcome Center. Video loops, photography and projections will be shown. The opening reception for Artificial Reef will take place at the Art Deco Welcome Center on Friday, December 3rd from 8PM – 12AM. We are additionally psyched to host special live “soundscape” performances by ANR and Sumsun during the reception, with an accompanying collage of our Natural History films curated and affected by video artist Jamie Harley. The video collaboration will be projected onto the bands as they perform. We will have complimentary Prestige beer at the reception.
We were recently commissioned to create the official video for the London/ Paris based electronic music collaboration WALLS, released by Kompakt Records in Berlin. ‘Hang Four’ was premiered on NME.com.
The yellow coral in the opening and closing shots is a sun coral (Tubastrea coccinae). The polyps are seen expanding in reaction to the addition of food to the aquarium. Unlike most reef building corals, the sun coral is non-photosynthetic, and relies on the capture of plankton as its sole energy source. In the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, this is an invasive coral species that most likely hitched a ride into the Caribbean basin following the opening of the Panama Canal. It has since spread northward into the Gulf of Mexico, colonizing oil rigs one-by-one. This particular colony was collected from one of the rigs not far from the BP Deep Horizon disaster about 2 years ago. It is unknown to us whether these corals have been negatively impacted from the spill, but as an invasive species, it raises a number of questions about whether their potential loss should be considered a detriment or not. Nevertheless, research on the impact these sun coral communities have experienced in the Gulf will be useful in determining oil tolerance on a stony coral species in close proximity to the oil disaster.
The iridescent, twinkling gelatinous creatures are called ctenophores (TEEN-o-fores) (aka comb jellies) ranging in size from 5-10mm in total length. They float in the open ocean and beat their rows of cilia (the iridescent, beating ‘combs’) which allows them to filter plankton out of the water. They often float in huge conglomerations of hundreds of thousands. They are an important part of the pelagic (open ocean) community of plankton likely impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf.
The little jellyfish are called ‘club hydromedusa’ (Orchistoma pileus) and range in size from 7-10mm. They also live in the open water near the surface, using their stinging tentacles to capture smaller zooplankton.
‘The Squat Urchin Shrimp’ Gnathophylloides mineri on Tripneustes ventricosus
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
The Squat Urchin Shrimp (Gnathophylloides mineri) is an amazingly successful creature that can be found living amongst the spines of sea urchins throughout most of the world’s shallow tropical waters. In the Caribbean they hitchhike exclusively upon the black and white West Indian Sea Egg (Tripneustes ventricosus), traveling along where ever its host may go. The squat urchin shrimp is very small, reaching no more than 6mm in length, and orients itself parallel with the spines making it all but invisible and protected from a would-be-predator. Often colonies of up to half a dozen squat urchin shrimp of varying sizes will all share the same urchin. Beyond its circumtropical distribution and perfect camouflage, the squat urchin shrimp further demonstrates its successfulness by feeding upon the epidermal tissue of the very spines that grant it protection. This is a relatively benign form of parasitism that doesn’t seem to bother the urchin. These shrimp will also feed opportunistically upon detritus that the urchin picks up as it moves along the sea floor. The squat urchin shrimp is a creature that has found a near perfect niche in a truly self-sustaining, self-contained world of spines.
‘The Heart Urchin Pea Crab’ Dissodactylus primitivus on Meoma ventricosa
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Barely 7mm in size, the aptly named heart urchin pea crab (Dissodactylus primitivus) lives its entire life as a passenger upon the slow-moving red heart urchin (Meoma ventricosa). It is an example of the unusual life that can be found by looking in unexpected places on Floridian coral reefs. The red heart urchin is an unusual member of the echinoderm clan (e.g. urchins, sea stars, sand dollars, sea cucumbers) that spends most of its time burrowing in the sand. It sifts through the grains of sand searching for organic detritus that constitutes its diet. Likewise, the heart urchin pea crab lives a well-protected life (usually below the sand) amongst the spines of this fist-sized urchin. While most crabs move swiftly, this pea crab moves slowly in order to navigate through the corridors of spines, even spending time inside the urchin’s mouth. It is likely that the crab feeds upon some of the food that would otherwise be consumed by the urchin. This commensal relationship appears mildly parasitic, as the urchin doesn’t seem to gain any sort of direct benefit from the crab living amongst its spines. Frequently, several heart urchin pea crabs will live communally without any noticeable negative impact to their host urchin’s health.
If you look closely, you’ll notice the rhythmic working of its gills and circulatory system within the heart urchin pea crab’s translucent, eggshell exoskeleton.
‘Cleaner Pt. 3′ Periclimenes rathbunae on Stichodactyla helianthus
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
The sun anemone shrimp (Periclimenes rathbunae) is the least common of the three species of Floridian anemone shrimp. While the other two anemone shrimp (P. pedersoni and P. yucatanicus) act as cleaners to passing fish, the sun anemone shrimp doesn’t seem to engage in this behavior. Instead, it spends its time living almost exclusively upon its namesake sun anemone (Stichodactyla helianthus). Aquarium observations suggest that this shrimp may supplement its diet by occasionally nipping off and eating the tentacles of the anemone. This parasitism suggests a more complicated symbiotic relationship than the sort of simple mutualism that these shrimp are often categorized by.
In Floridian waters, the scarcity of this shrimp is likely related to the infrequency of its host sun anemone. However, where they are found, the sun anemone often lives in dense clonal colonies that can literally carpet shallow reefs. The tentacles, while short and stubby, are packed with powerful stinging nematocysts that act like microscopic harpoons to deliver their venom. The end result of all these nematocysts and tentacles, is an anemone that is very ‘sticky’, and capable of producing painful welts to the careless diver.
‘The Porcelain Crab’ Petrolisthes galathinus feeding on passing plankton
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
The porcelain crab’s common name is derived from its propensity to drop claws like a fragile tea cup breaking. When attacked, the would-be predator is usually left with nothing more than a few amputated (and still-twitching) limbs. In a few days the porcelain crab will undergo an ’emergency molt’ of its exoskeleton and begin regenerating its lost appendages.
The porcelain crab shown here, Petrolisthes galathinus, is a common resident of Floridian and Caribbean reefs, living under rubble and coral heads. Turning over loose rocks will often yield a fleeting glimpse of scurrying, purple legs. They can move incredibly fast and generally remain cryptic to the passing scuba diver. While many crab species are territorial and agressive towards members of their own species, these porcelain crabs can be colonial with several dozen porcelain crabs living together under the same rock.
Despite the similar appearances, porcelain crabs are not ‘true’ crabs; they are in fact more closely related to the squat lobster clan (Galatheidae) than the archetypal brachyuran crabs we are all familiar with. Porcelain crabs’ flattened bodies are adapted to their life under rocks and in crevices. One of the defining features of porcelain crabs are the comb-like appendages called ‘setae’ that sweep the water currents in order to collect edible particles that happen to float by. Another pair of specialized appendages scrape the the setae and bring the collected food to their mouthparts. This feeding strategy, with its alternating rhythm, appears robotic in its efficiency.
‘Transmission’ Pseudoceros crozieri or ‘Tiger Flatworm’
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
The tiger flatworm (Pseudoceros crozieri) is a stunning species of flatworm that can be found living on rocks and mangrove roots along the shores of the Caribbean. Colonial orange tunicates (Ecteinascidia turbinata) constitute the tiger flatworm’s only food-source. At 35mm in length, it is considerably larger than the previously featured red flatworms. As simultaneous hermaphrodites, the tiger flatworm often travels as pairs and mate regularly. Their pseudotentacle antennae help aid them in finding mates by detecting chemical cues in the water.
Locomotion in this larger flatworm species is accomplished by rippling muscle contractions along the edges of the animal, and aided by a slippery mucous slime. The video is shown in real time.
‘The Lettuce Slug’ Elysia crispata on Halimeda opuntia
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Lettuce sea slugs (Elysia crispata) are a commonly found in protected nearshore Floridian waters where green macroalgae proliferates. They belong to a clan of sea slugs, the sarcoglossans, that are characterized by their ‘sap-sucking’ feeding habits of algae. These slugs slowly patrol mangrove roots and rocks searching for green algae upon which they feed. They store some of the chloroplasts from eaten algae in their tissue, giving it the green coloration. The chloroplasts continue to function, providing the slug with photosynthetic energy. The ruffles along the back of the lettuce sea slug are called parapodia, and help provide more surface area for the chloroplasts to inhabit. They also camouflage the slug amongst the leafy algae that they live amongst. It is very easy to swim past a lettuce nudibranch without ever noticing it.
The scrolled rhinophores (antennae) on the head of the lettuce sea slug help detect the chemical fingerprints of their preferred algal species. If you look carefully, just behind the rhinophores, you’ll notice the small black eye spots that act as rudimentary eyes to detect changes in light and dark.
The macroalgae featured in the film is Halimeda opuntia, (named after its resemblance to the prickly pear cactus Opuntia sp.). It is unique amongst green algae in that it produces a semi-rigid, calcareous skeleton. In fact, the dead ‘leaf’ fragments of Halimeda spp. algae are a more significant producer of coral reef sand than the corals themselves. It is not uncommon to find lettuce sea slugs on Halimeda opuntia algae, as it frequently lives amidst the softer green algae that the lettuce sea slugs prefer.
The flatworms (Convolutriloba retrogemma) featured in the video are shown at 3x normal speed. They each range from 2-4mm in total length.
These particular flatworms harbor symbiotic zooxanthellae in their thin tissue and utilize the excess sugars they create as their primary energy source. Packets of zooxanthellae can be seen as the tiny, red-brown dots along the back of flatworm. Their reliance upon this photosynthesis requires that these flatworms bask in sunlight like little photovoltaic cells, and enables them to live without a developed digestive system.
In the wild, this species can be found in the shallow water of protected lagoons and around mangroves. Reproduction is accomplished asexually via fission, in which the flatworms literally split into two. This strategy enables exponential population growth in optimum conditions. They are the preferred prey of several species of larger flatworms and sea slugs; animals that can tolerate their toxic bodily fluids.
While it appears that the flatworms just glide along like magic carpets, they are actually propelled by invisible cilia (flapping filaments) that slide them across a thin layer of mucous laid over whatever surface they happen to be upon.
Upon close inspection of flatworm-to-flatworm interaction, it is apparent that these flatworms do not like making direct contact with each other. If they do, they react as if stung. It seems that this reaction prevents the worms from piling on top of each other in an effort to gain the best solar power. Instead, they jockey for position until they each find a place in which to ‘park’ themselves, like sunbathers on a crowded beach.
‘The Florist’ Leptopsia setirostris (Decorator Crab) scavenging amongst a Zoanthus polyp garden
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Once again we return to observe a cryptic red decorator crab (Leptopsia setirostris); this time living upon, and decorated with, zoanthid polyps (Zoanthus sociatus), close cousins to both sea anemones and corals. Zoanthus in Latin literally means ‘animal flower’. The species name sociatus refers to the fact they these flower animals live socially in dense groupings of identical polyps.
Decorator crabs demonstrate a remarkably prescient instinct to be able process the information required to successfully camouflage themselves to match their preferred habitat. Unlike the typically fast-scuttling crabs of the mainstream, decorator crabs move at a deliberately slow pace to reduce being noticed.
This particular decorator crab species boasts a brilliant red exoskeleton that it has disguised with the zoanthids. The crab has carefully nipped individual zoanthid polyps from a larger colony and placed them upon its carapace (back) where they attach down on their own and continue growing. My experience suggests that it takes at least two days for a polyp to begin attaching down to new substrate. I have yet to observe the crab going through the whole process of zoanthid ‘decoration’, but clearly it is a very patient animal.
The crab uses its small claws to pick at and remove pieces of detritus between the polyps. The animal nature of the zoanthids becomes especially apparent when the movements of the crab cause the polyps to close up in reaction. If you look carefully at the bottom right of the screen you’ll notice the periodic movements of a barnacle that these zoanthids are growing upon. Zoanthids are commonly called ‘sea mat’ due to their rubbery, encrusting morphology. They live together in interconnected colonies of cloned polyps, slowly expanding their colonies outward; growing over shells, in-between coral heads, and across shallow tide pools.
‘Complex Nano’
Music by Space Voodoo Crystal
Video and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Above is a short video featuring a glow-in-the-dark perspective of the 5-gallon ‘Complex Nano’ reef aquarium. A daylight photo of this aquarium is featured in the April/May – 8th Anniversary Issue of Marc Ecko’s Complex Magazine (see below). By comparing the two differently illuminated versions of this nano reef, the true fluorescence of the corallimorphs and zoanthids immediately becomes apparent. The fluorescent pigments of the corallimorphs and zoanthids are preferentially activated under the 470 nm blue wavelength LED lighting used in the video. Notice that the normally bright orange coloration of the clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) appears nearly black in the film.
Both of the fish in the aquarium are captive-raised by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute’s ornamental aquaculture subsidiary ORA. ORA has been a leader in this field, and we stand fully committed to the further development of aquacultured ornamental marine fish species. You’ll notice that the normally three-striped clownfish has an unusual cross-pattern on one side. This is the result of selective breeding on ORA’s part. In recent years, clownfish hatcheries have developed all black, white, orange, and ‘Picasso’, variations of the standard ‘Nemo’ through patient breeding and selection.
The other fish in the aquarium is an orchid dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani). Wild versions of this fish tend to be more fiesty and territorial, whereas hatchery-raised fish tend to be more gregarious and better suited for life in a community reef aquarium.
Note the commensal (and nearly translucent) Pederson’s cleaner shrimp (Periclimenes pedersoni) on the fluorescent orange (Ricordea florida) corallimorphs in the video.
‘The Lynx Nudibranch’ Phidiana lynceus (Lynx Nudibranch) on Spondylus americanus oyster
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Last week we spent a moment making eyes with the oyster (Spondylus americanus). This week we’ll spend a moment with a diverse community of animals and plants that have colonized the upper shell of the very same oyster. Towards the left of the frame is a small colony of flower-like animals known as hydroids. Hydroids are most closely related to jellyfish, but instead remain attached to the reef their whole lives (unlike a jellyfish). But, like the jellyfish, hydroids can pack a powerful stinging punch. The brown, daisy-like creatures seen growing here on the oysters’s back are one such type of hydroid, Myrionema amboinense. This hydroid species derives its brown coloration from the symbiotic zooxanthellae (dinoflagellate ‘algae’) stored in its tissues. The ability to gain nutrition from both prey capture and photosynthesis, allows these hydroids to grow and colonize quickly. The sting from these hydroids is considerably more powerful than that of most corals. The gray, lumpy knobs on the back of the oyster shell are zoanthid polyps, close cousins of the sea anemones. However, these zoanthids are no match against the powerful sting of the hydroids. The zoanthids have all but acknowledged defeat by the encroaching stingers by simply closing up; effectively handing over control of the oyster shell to the hydroids.
‘Oyster Vision’ Spondylus americanus oyster
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Here we look into the face of the thorny oyster (Spondylus americanus). Unlike most shallow-water oyster species, the thorny oyster is a solitary creature that lives permanently cemented to the deeper coral reef. Its fleshy mantle is adorned with sepia-toned psychedelic camouflage that can vary widely from one individual to the next. The rim of the mantle is lined with dozens of eyes that stare out into the depths. These eyes are quite simple, only detecting changes in light that might suggest an incoming predator. If a threat is detected, the oyster will quickly snap its two shells together, sealing the animal inside with its two powerful adductor muscles. It is the adductor muscle that people eat when they eat ‘oysters on the half shell’. Oysters are filter feeders, spending their time siphoning water through gills that strain out particulate matter. As seen in the film, the oyster periodically expels waste and water with a quick contraction of its adductor muscles.
In the second installment (next week) we will explore the upper shell of the oyster and the community of organisms that has colonized it.
‘Transparency’
Unidentified shrimp on unidentified Ricordea polyp
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
In the second installment of the ‘Unidentified Ricordea Shrimp’ series we find the (previously featured) unidentified Ricordea shrimp upon an unusual host. While it is is most certainly on a Ricordea polyp, we are not convinced that it is in fact Ricordea florida. Over the years, we have noticed several key morphological and physiological differences that suggest that there are two genetically distinct morphs of Ricordea florida. For practical purposes, we have been referring to the morph of Ricordea seen here (under 470 nm light) as ‘inshore ricordea’.
‘The Arrow Crab’ Stenorhynchus seticornis or ‘Arrow Crab’ guarding a cave entrance
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Take a moment to look into the compound eyes of the arrow crab (Stenorhynchus seticornis). If NASA is looking for a robot capable of navigating rocky planetary terrain, the arrow crab would be a perfect organism to model it after. In the video we look down the sharp, pointed rostrum (‘nose’) of an arrow crab as it appears bobbing in space. In reality, its spindly, spider-like legs are holding it anchored like a sentinel, guarding the opening of a small cave.
Arrow crabs are an abundant species on Floridian reefs, living perched near cracks and crevices in coral heads where they can retreat if threatened. Their pointed rostrum, triangular body, and protruding eyes gives this crab the appearance of a predatory lizard fish that can dash away at a moment’s notice. Instead, the arrow crab is rather slow moving, relying on the fact that the paucity of meat inside the spiny, twig-like exoskeleton of the arrow crab makes it unappetizing to a would-be-predator. This unique anatomical configuration likely explains their abundance in the wild.
Like other decapod crustaceans, the arrow crab has 10 legs (8 walking legs, and 2 pincers or ‘chelipeds’ properly). However, if you look carefully, you’ll notice that this particular crab is missing the last leg on the right side of its body. Fortunately, crustaceans are capable of regrowing amputated legs. Only a few hours after it was filmed, this arrow crab molted, and as if by magic, regenerated its tenth limb.
‘The Fire Coral’ Pt. 1
A feeding Balanus sp. barnacle encrusted by Millepora alcicornis
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Millepora alcicornis, or fire coral, is not actually a true coral, but a hydrocoral. Hydrocorals are colonies of hydroids that secrete a shared limestone skeleton, making them more closely related to jellyfish than true corals. Here in Florida, fire coral is extremely abundant on our reefs where they serve as the underwater equivalent of a sunburn to unsuspecting divers. Skin contact with fire coral will result in immediate burning pain, followed by an itchy welt that can last for several days.
Fire coral is frequently found encrusting over neighboring corals, starting from the bottom and slowly killing the coral until the colony is completely encased in living limestone. Because fire coral contains symbiotic zooxanthellae (like most tropical stony corals), they are capable of fast growth rates that help build a coral reef. Upon close inspection of fire coral, the stinging polyps can be seen as needle-like projections. At even closer magnification, grape-like bunches of stinging nematocysts can been seen protruding along the polyps’ length. These polyps are retractable, and when an edible food particle is captured, it can be drawn back towards one of the many mouths that dot the surface of the colony. In the video we see a colony of barnacle shells (Balanus sp.) that have been encrusted by fire coral. Unlike the corals though, the barnacle can continue to live beneath the veneer of fire coral.
Barnacles are most commonly found living in the inter-tidal zone where they live periodic lifestyles of low tide rest and high tide activity. When immersed in water, the barnacle feeds with legs specialized for feeding called cirri. The cirri are covered with comb-like filaments that rake the water for passing plankton. If a particle is caught in the cirri, it is drawn back to the animal’s mouth and eaten. When barnacle larvae settle out of the floating plankton themselves, they permanently affix themselves to a life-long location. Barnacles have a special ‘cement gland’ under their bodies that produces an impressive proteinaceous adhesive that holds the animal firmly, in spite of the heaviest of waves. A series of calcareous plates (commonly six) form a turret that protects their soft bodily tissues from predators. Despite their simple appearance, barnacles are in fact crustaceans, like shrimp, crabs, and lobsters.
‘The Sun Coral’
The feeding of a Tubastrea coccinea coral cluster
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
This week’s video features a colony of Tubastrea coccinea coral polyp clones feeding on passing zooplankton. The film is sped up 10 times to emphasize the feeding abilities and coordination between the sticky tentacles and the polyps’ mouths.
Tubastrea coccinea or ‘Sun Corals’, have an unusual background story, being the only invasive stony coral to become established in the Caribbean basin. Native to the tropical Indo-Pacific Oceans, they were first noted living on ships’ hulls in Puerto Rico and Curacao (Southern Caribbean) in the mid 1940’s. Over the ensuing decades, they eventually spread elsewhere throughout the entire Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico on the prevailing water currents. It is believed that these sun corals may have originally entered our region as larval stow-aways in the ballast water of intercontinental ships that passed through the Panama Canal.
‘Lima scabra’
The tentacles and mantle of a Lima scabra file clam filter feeding
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
Lima scabra is a common resident on Floridian and Caribbean reefs where it can be found wedged in crevices, with only its long tentacles extending out into the water column. Usually these tentacles are crimson red (as seen in the specimen above), although they are occasionally white in color. Lima scabra can grow to about 3.5 (9cm) inches long.
Like most bivalves, Lima scabra is a filter feeder. It siphons water in through its fleshy mantle (seen in the video), and strains any edible particulate matter before pumping the water back it out. It holds itself semi-permanently in place through the use of ‘byssus threads’. The threads are formed by a viscous protein secretion that cures instantly upon contact with seawater. These byssus threads have captured the attention of bio-engineers who seek to replicate their strong adhesive properties for industrial applications. However, if the clam comes under attack from a predator, it is capable of detaching and swimming away. They can move surprisingly quick; swimming in fast, jerky movements, propelled by the repeated snapping-together of its shell.
‘Purple Forest’
Decorator Crab (Microphrys bicornuta) on Asparagopsis taxiformis algae
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic
This week’s video features an aquascape comprised of the beautiful purple macro algae Asparagopsis taxiformis. However, if you pay close attention to the left 1/3 of the screen, you’ll notice something… moving with claws. Nestled amongst the algae is a perfectly camouflaged decorator crab (Microphrys bicornuta). Keep paying attention… at 26 seconds into the clip you’ll notice a tiny isopod crustacean float by in the current and descend helicopter-style right onto the crab’s back. The unsuspecting isopod has no idea that it has landed upon an algae covered beast. Furthermore, it appears that the crab is not aware of the unexpected visitor until the isopod begins to explore its decorated exoskeleton. 50 seconds into the clip the isopod meets its fate with a few swift snatches of the crab’s claws. Without missing a beat, the crab continues scavenging amongst the rocks and algae. And life on the reef goes on.
Decorator crabs are amazing creatures in that they pick up pieces of their surrounding habitat and place them on their carapace (back, exoskeleton) in order to blend into their surroundings. Decorator crabs that live amongst sponges decorate with sponges, those that live amongst zoanthids use zoanthids, and so on. This instinctual logic is truly remarkable. The crab in the video has attached small pieces of the Asparagopsis upon itself, and as a result is all but indistinguishable from its surroundings.
