EAST COAST CORAL SPAWN When corals spawn, they produce what is known as a spawning slick. These can be metres wide and kilometres long, and often have a pink or brown tinge. Slicks have even been detected from space by satellite imagery! Slicks have been observed by fishermen for years and even occur in the mythology of some maritime communities. For example, coral slicks have been associated with a particular Asian legend of a princess who was captured by a dragon and taken beneath the sea. The coral spawn supposedly marks the trail of her menstrual blood. In another story, local fishermen in the East China Sea avoid catching a normally popular reef fish for about three weeks of the year. During this time, they say, the fish tastes horrible and becomes inedible. This period, it turns out, coincides with when the corals spawn. The fish are probably eating the eggs in the morning. Coral eggs contain a lot of lipids and also chemicals that deter predators. Indeed, researchers have noticed that coral spawning slicks sometimes have a sickly sweet or oily odour, and can even smell like turpentine. WRECK POINT YEPPOON. RA/CQF
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 03:07:21 +0000
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