Symbiotic relation with Zooxanthellae

Most corals contain algae residing within the coral’s tissues and they both share a symbiotic relationship with each other, what are these algae called?

Answer & Solution: Zooxanthellae

Enrich you learning:

Coral reefs:

• Corals are sessile, which means that they permanently attach themselves to the ocean floor, essentially “taking root” like most plants do.            
• Corals actually comprise an ancient and unique partnership, called symbiosis, that benefits both animal and plant life in the ocean.
• They are animals, because they do not make their own food, as plants do.
• Corals have tiny, tentacle-like arms that they use to capture their food from the water and sweep into their inscrutable mouths.

Coral polyps

• Coral made up of hundreds to thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps.
• Each soft-bodied polyp secretes a hard outer skeleton of limestone (calcium carbonate) that attaches either to rock or the dead skeletons of other polyps.
• In the case of stony or hard corals, these polyp conglomerates grow, die, and endlessly repeat the cycle over time, slowly laying the limestone foundation for coral reefs and giving shape to the familiar corals that reside there.

Symbiotic relation with Zooxanthellae:

• Most corals contain algae called zooxanthellae.
• Residing within the coral’s tissues, the microscopic algae are well protected and make use of the coral’s metabolic waste products for photosynthesis, the process by which plants make their own food.
• The corals benefit, in turn, as the algae produce oxygen, remove wastes, and supply the organic products of photosynthesis that corals need to grow, thrive, and build up the reef.
• The corals also get their colour from the algae.