lmorin
Contributor
Up go the mites and down come the tites!bottomfeeder22:
Fresh water coral?
- Thread starter jsado
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
- Messages
- 3,100
- Reaction score
- 434
- # of dives
- I'm a Fish!
do it easy:
You are correct, but I was just answering the person who couldn't remember which was which.
I couldn't remember until about a week ago when someone told me a neat way to remember.
Doing It Easy, I've also noticed several forms of freshwater sponges in the St Lawrence, some are flat, some have finger-like projections, and others look like clumps of a white/greenish tissue. None higher than 1.5 inches. Anywhere from 20 ft down to 120 ft level, on rocks, wooden and steel wrecks. They're soft to the (gentle) touch, in both current and non-current pasts of the river.
There were some last year and way more this year. Maybe they've been there for a few years, and I'm only noticing them now, or maybe they've grown a lot in the past season.
I can see how someone could think that the finger-like ones would look like coral.
There were some last year and way more this year. Maybe they've been there for a few years, and I'm only noticing them now, or maybe they've grown a lot in the past season.
I can see how someone could think that the finger-like ones would look like coral.
- Messages
- 3,100
- Reaction score
- 434
- # of dives
- I'm a Fish!
bottomfeeder22:
Just last week they came up in conversation, and I said I could never remember which was which. My friend taught me this "stalactites hang tight to teh ceiling while stalagmites might reach the ceiling". Finally, I can remember. At least for a week.
bubba105
Contributor
StalaCtite - Ceiling StalaGmite - Ground
When the bride and I were dating, this was my way of remembering. She being a Geologist, I needed to show (YAWN) interest in her calling.
When the bride and I were dating, this was my way of remembering. She being a Geologist, I needed to show (YAWN) interest in her calling.
Hank49
Contributor
archman:
Are there some organisms now in the Great Lakes that came in from the sea? Isn't the sea lamprey one of these?
- Messages
- 53,669
- Reaction score
- 7,847
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
Stalactites stick tight to the cieling.
Stalagmites just might get up that far - then we call the columns.
This does kinda look like a soft coral to a novice...
Archman is an expert in the area, and if he says it's not - discussion is really over, but I can see me thinking it was.
Stalagmites just might get up that far - then we call the columns.
Yep, the only one I can think of from the ocean; others from other freshwater sources.Hank49:
This does kinda look like a soft coral to a novice...
Archman is an expert in the area, and if he says it's not - discussion is really over, but I can see me thinking it was.
Hank49:
Yeah, but lampreys are diadromous. Anthozoans are all marine. So are the hydrozoan milleporinids. Ergo, no freshwater corals. Putting aside the lack of dissolved minerals needed for calcium accretion, there's a frightful osmotic imbalance to consider.
Unless one likes *exploding corals*. Hmm... that does sound fun.
Why no fresh water corals?
I am not a marine biologist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. I think it has to due with several energy and efficiency issues. Fresh waters tend to be slightly tubid and Scleractinian corals (hard corals) need clear water for the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) in their cells. These zooxanthellae use the sun's energy to convert carbon dioxide from the seawater into energy-rich sugars and fats. Any excessive organic compounds that the algae don't need for their own respiration and growth are available to the host coral. In return, the zooxanthellae have a safe place to live within the coral tissue and the algae uses the coral's waste nutrients for growth. Plus most fresh waters tend to be slightly acidic. And calcium carbonate is dissolved by acid. So....the individual Scleractinian coral polyps would have to expended an enormous amount of energy (probably more then they can generate) to secrete and maintain their skeleton structures through deposition of calcium carbonate in fresh water.
I am not a marine biologist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. I think it has to due with several energy and efficiency issues. Fresh waters tend to be slightly tubid and Scleractinian corals (hard corals) need clear water for the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) in their cells. These zooxanthellae use the sun's energy to convert carbon dioxide from the seawater into energy-rich sugars and fats. Any excessive organic compounds that the algae don't need for their own respiration and growth are available to the host coral. In return, the zooxanthellae have a safe place to live within the coral tissue and the algae uses the coral's waste nutrients for growth. Plus most fresh waters tend to be slightly acidic. And calcium carbonate is dissolved by acid. So....the individual Scleractinian coral polyps would have to expended an enormous amount of energy (probably more then they can generate) to secrete and maintain their skeleton structures through deposition of calcium carbonate in fresh water.
Similar threads
