In the 2004 Tsunami, it resulted the destruction of thousands of coral-colonies on the Andaman Reef. The dead corals that were detached from the reef by the impact of the Tsunami now move around through wave action causing further destruction to living corals and inhibiting re-growth.The Andaman Reef is composed of a thin veneer of living coral ‘heads’ on top of the limestone skeletons of millions of their coral ancestors and parallels the shore (a fringing reef) and is at least 50 meters thick and believed to be about 8,000 years old. mylifestylenews floats on the water to see the other side of world's wonders beneath the water.....
The Andaman Resort in Langkawi not only just provide you one of the most comfortable accommodations and yet the most educational way to learn how to love our mother nature. One of the many attractions is their very own Coral Nursery in which you can gaze at with wonders, adults and children alike. Due to the Tsunami damage back in 2004, the resort is playing a key part in rebuilding the coral reef, this nursery is where they grow new coral and where suitable, replant it back out on the reef. The first of its kind in South East Asia, the Coral Nursery is a purpose built facility that allows you to learn more about the coral reef without having to wait for low tides. They have activities such as private guided snorkeling, coral transplanting, guided reef walks and artificial reef building, which happens around the tidal variations that are a must do while you are in residence.
The Coral Nursery is the home to many beautiful species of coral, fish, sea cucumbers, crabs and more. It is a microcosm of the main fringing reefs, you will be fitted with a life jacket and then ‘float’ around the pool with a running commentary of all you can see. The corals here get 90% of their food from sunlight and the algae in their tissue. The rest is made up of plankton and tiny shrimps that they hatch and add to the nursery everyday. Corals have stinging cells that are able to 'shoot' out a microscopic harpoon like structure that carries a paralyzing toxin. When a small 'meal' comes along, it is stung and pushed into the mouth. Corals reefs are under attack by the damaging activities caused by man surveys show that at least half of the world's coral reefs have been badly damaged.
Staghorn corals are ideal for their nursery. They have fast growth rates of up to about 100mm per year. Their growing tip is marked by a large white polyp. Corals can catch small fish and plankton, using stinging cells on their tentacles. But most corals obtain their energy from alga that live within the coral's tissue. Such corals require sunlight and grow in clear, shallower than 60 metres. Coral reefs are the world's most complex ecosystem, they cover less than 0.2% of the ocean floor, yet they are estimated to support nearly 25% of all marine life.
Chalice lettuce corals from large cups or twisted plates up to 2 metres in diameter. They extend their polyps to feed on plankton at night. Corals are mostly groups of very simple animals called "Polyps" that live together in a colony. Together, the polyps produce a rocky skeleton of limestone and these can be very large with hundreds of thousands of tiny polyps. Brain corals extend their tentacles to catch food at night. During the day, the brain corals use their tentacles for protection by wrapping them over the grooves on their surface.
Groupers are fish having a stout body and a large mouth. They are not built for long-distance fast swimming. They can grow quite large and these can reach 500mm and several kilos. They swallow prey rather then biting pieces off it. They start life as females and then change sex to male around the age 4-5 years old. The males usually control a harem of 3-15 females.
A sea anemone is a polyp attached at its base by an adhesive foot, called a basal disc, with a tube shaped body ending in on oral disc. Powerful stinging tentacles surround a central mouth in this hungry predator. Sea anemones are close relatives of corals but do not produce a limestone skeleton. They live as a solitary polyp and some can grow to a metre in diameter. Hermit crabs use the shells of sea snails as a home. The vulnerable abdomen is protected from predators by a salvaged empty seashell carried by the hermit crab into which its whole body can retract. Unless another anemone is very close, it is difficult for an outcast clown fish to survive. Offering are better at finding a new home. When clown fish eggs hatch, the young are able to follow chemical 'smell' given off by anemones.
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