|
Two thirds of all known coral species of the phylum Cnidaria is found in the deep-sea or deep-water where light can not penetrate and therefore, these cold corals do not harbor symbiotic zooxanthellae in their
polyps. One such azooxanthellate species stands apart, being the dominant user of carbondioxide to build their aragonite skeleton. This unique coral species is Lophelia pertusa, cosmopolitan in geographic
distribution. This species builds bioherms, ranging in age from 3000 to million or more years and distributed predominantly under the ‘Gulf Stream’ and its northeastern oscillation extending all the way to northern
Norway. Photo shows a polyp of this species fully open in feeding posture. GIBS conducted four expeditions to Sweden (1999- 2003) in the summers to study the physiology of Lophelia pertusa, particularly on feeding
and metabolism under different acclimated temperature. The question, posed in this study, revolves around the fundamental inquiry on the potential impact of global warming on the Lophelia reefs?
|
