Coral Reproduction: Oh, the Possibilities Allotted to Corals to Multiply

Corals have been with us years before the first Dinosaur even set foot on earth. Evolution and successful reproductive means afforded to them, has helped corals immensely allowing them to remain on earth for such a long period of time, with very little changes in terms of structure, growth, behavior and metabolism. Having said this, corals are truly amazing in the number of ways they can reproduce and grow.

Two methods of reproduction can be achieved with corals: sexual and asexual. Often times asexual reproduction is specific to a certain type of coral and the means of asexual reproduction are diverse and numerous. Asexual reproduction is corals ability to form new colonies as clones or exact replicas of the mother colony without gametes being produced or genetic matter being present. Sexual reproduction involves corals possessing both sexes either within the same colony(hermaphroditic) or separate sexes in different colonies(gonochoric) that release sperm and eggs into the pelagic areas of our reefs.

Various means of asexual reproduction are evident and commonly displayed depending on factors regarding environmental issues such as temperature variances as well as population of corals in a given area.

Asexual reproduction through fragmentation is common in branching species of coral especially, since during storms and other disturbances, pieces of branching corals will break off from the parent colony and be carried away . Once settled the coral frag will begin to take root and establish itself where it landed, unless it isn't able to attach itself or has become positioned near a neighboring coral displaying allelopathic toxins that could prove detrimental to the newcomer.