Who
would have thought that coral have haemoglobin in them – you know that protein
that carries oxygen around in our blood?
Apparently
it’s the resident microalgae that have haemoglobin genes.
Coral
and microalgae have a mutually beneficial or symbiotic relationship, like Mrs
Polly Mer and I do with the lovely seaweed growing on the floor of our coastal
home.
The
seaweed provides us with a lovely carpet and we provide it with nutritious
detritus and care.
The
microalgae in coral are protected and fed and they, in turn, produce oxygen,
remove waste and feed the coral.
When
corals are stressed, like when the temperature goes up or oily bilge waste
pollutes the water, the algae try really hard to mop up toxic gases with their
haemoglobin - but if this doesn’t work they abandon the coral.
This
means the corals are deprived of their main source of food and they whiten or
bleach – getting ready to die if things don’t improve.
I guess
that’s why Miss Coral Bleaching looks so anemic all the time. I must tell her
to get some algae into her.
The
microalgae are pretty sensitive and fast workers, they start making haemoglobin pretty quickly when they realise the coral is stressing out. Now
that we know this we might be able to get the algae to give us a readout on how
stressed a coral is in time to reduce their stress levels and help them get on with building reefs.
May your week be stressless
Mrs Polly Ester
