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FLOATING CORALS: A POSSIBLE SOURCE OF ERRONEOUS DISTRIBUTION DATA
Author(s) -
Kornicker Louis S.,
Squires Donald F.
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1962.7.4.0447
Subject(s) - float (project management) , oceanography , great barrier reef , coral , reef , environmental science , geology , ecology , biology , marine engineering , engineering
Some reef corals are able to float after their cellular structure is filled with air. Experiments performed with corals collected on Texas’ barrier islands show that when corals capable of floating arc immersed in water they absorb water slowly and stay afloat for varying lengths of time; some float for more than 8 months. The possibility of floating corals being deposited far from where they originate is real and might lead to erroneous distribution data and wrong ecological interpretations.