Page 150 - The Microworld Miracle

the coral turns brown and green. Coral that has lost all its bright
hues, is also deprived of its protective algae and is now exposed to
the corrosive effects of salt water. All that now remains of the orig-
inal coral is its calcium and inorganic albumins.
Under the effect of passing years and the erosion caused by the
water's movement, coral turns into sand. If the temperature rise
persists for four weeks, it becomes impossible for the coral to find

the algae necessary for them to survive. 78

Algae Allow Jellyfish to Live

Masses of water produced by seas of parts of seas in certain re-
gions of the sea are very impoverished in terms of food. Like coral,
the jellyfish that live in such regions start looking for algae to ab-
sorb into their bodies, as if they knew where to find the nutrients
they require. Under normal conditions, jellyfishes feed by catching
small fish and crustaceans with their tentacles. That is impossible in
infertile seas, however, which is why they embark on a shared life
with algae. They detect algae with their tentacles and absorb them

into their bodies without digesting them.
To obtain the necessary energy, jellyfishes head straight for the
surface of the water, the region receiving the greatest amount of so-
lar energy in the early morning. As the Sun travels from East to
THE MICROWORLD MIRACLE vertical wall extending up to 700 centimeters (22.97 feet) deep
West in the sky, jellyfishes also follow its movement and face the di-
rection of the Sun. A very large community of jellyfish can form a

forms in the area where solar light strikes the water. If a beam of
sunlight occurs between objects in the waters, jellyfishes make the
most of the opportunity and line themselves along the beam in such

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