Corals grow at night, laser measurements reveal

17 Jun 2002

Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Townsville, Queensland), writing in the journal Nature, note the use of lasers to measure the growth ofcorals, which, it was found, grow mostly at night. A laser measures small differences in diffraction patterns produced by the beam as it is focused on a tip of growingcoral.

Previously, it was assumed that coral grew in daylight, encouraged by pho-tosynthesis of tiny algae within the coral. With new light on how growth occurs, waysmay be found to deal with coral damage from pollution. Investigator Razi Vago says the researchers can "return to the same colony, in different seasons, aftercatastrophic events, or at the onset or removal of pollution."