Page 273 - The Virgin Islands

eproduction in fire corals is more complex or when collecting fish for the aquarium trade. critters taken on the color scheme of the fire
For instance, the yellowtail damselfish tends to coral patch itself. A classic example is a species of
Rthan in other reef-building corals. The pol- dwell close to the branching fire coral colonies, file fish that has developed a color scheme that
and retreats into its branches when threatened. matches the color of the fire coral itself near Klein
yps reproduce asexually, producing jellyfish-like In Brazil, fire coral colonies are extensively dam- Bonaire. Fire coral comes in a range of colors in-
medusae, which are released into the water from aged when harvesting the yellowtail damselfish, cluding red, yellow, brown, green, purple, white
special cup-like structures known as ampullae. as the corals are often deliberately smashed and and almost every color of the rainbow.
The medusae contain the reproductive organs fishes hiding amongst the branches are ‘shaken
that release eggs and sperm into the water. Fer- out’ into plastic bags. Asting from first coral can be painful. Blisters
tilized eggs develop into free-swimming larvae form and the skin peals away. The skin will
that will eventually settle on the substrate and The unique colorization of fire corals and the scab over and then heal. The process can take up
form new colonies. Fire corals can also reproduce large patches they can form becomes home to two weeks.
asexually by fragmentation. to many sea critters than have taken on adap-
tive colors that mix and match the color of the
Most fire coral species have brittle skeletons fire coral patches. This classic Darwinian selected
that can easily be broken, for example, dur- adaptive natural selection has resulted in sea
ing storms, or by divers. Divers can easily break
the branches of fire corals when diving for leisure,