Effects of water flow and prey behavior on coral feeding. This mission was postponed last year due to Hurricane Floyd. It will be rescheduled for a 2000 mission slot. The proposed research is the first designed specifically to quantify, using video and other techniques, the in situ small-scale mechanisms that affect how corals feed and capture prey. Additionally, a detailed study of coral morphology will be conducted, to help explain feeding strategies used by different coral species.
Several factors affect the health and distribution of corals within a reef.
Water motion has large impacts on coral biology, affecting processes such as distribution, competition, larval dispersal, fragmentation, activity of predators, and sedimentation. Water motion also delivers prey to corals and enhances uptake and exchange of nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other ions. A typical reef experiences a wide range of flows. Even over a few meters, flow differs substantially causing substantial differences in coral growth rates. Recent advances in technology have allowed researchers to conduct in situ studies that traditionally were possible only in the lab.