- Of all the living things, corals and jellyfish are relatives.
Have you read The Living Things of The Great Barrier Reef: Part One? Visit the link if you haven’t because this is part two.
Waves and currents move the rubble and sand around and shape it into the beautiful small islands known as Coral Cays.
Some of the Coral Cays come and go over the years and some build up and protect themselves from the elements.
Sand cays support the abundant life of living things.
Raine Island is free from humans and predators and home to a lot of birds.
Thousands of birds live on the island and they fight for the space in the center. There are more birds here than any other part of the reef.
Raine Island is home to 84 different species of turtles and the largest green turtle breeding ground in the world.
26,000 turtles came out of the sea to lay their eggs in one night.
Each night, the rhythm of the moon causes the water to drain from the reef and whole sections that are normally underwater, are exposed.
Pools of water are cut off as the tide retreats.
The Epaulette Shark cannot breath out of water but it can shut down parts of its brain and increase blood to others so it’s also a specialized reef top hunter. This fish can walk around the top of rock pools. No living things are safe as the epaulette shark scans for smells and signals to find creatures within the rocks.
Other sharks wait at the reefs edge for high tide and ample hunting grounds.
More and more creatures begin to feed in new areas when the water level rises.
The fish that can normally outrun sharks are trapped between sand and surface and have virtually nowhere to hide at low tide.
Some coral is fluorescent and covers almost the whole of the reef crest. No one ultimately knows why this happens and the same goes for most of the night time activities in the Great Barrier Reef.
Octopus’ come out at night to stalk their prey, living things.
The basket star comes alive at night, throwing out thousands of arms to filter food from the current.
Mollusks can live up to 35 years and have been seen in the same place for over 15 years.
Fish give off a scent and that’s how they’re found at night by other fish.
The cone snail catches prey by sniffing them out while they sleep.
The parrotfish releases a membrane at night that covers its scent from other fish. It creates a huge bubble around itself, from the fish’s mouth. Then the fish blows it up around itself.
White-Tip sharks have the best reflexes especially at night, better than all other sharks.
Corals and jellyfish are relatives. They are both living
things though it would seem that’s where their similarities stop.
Corals become active hunters at night. They blossom up and snatch tiny animals from the current, then embolize them with their stinging tentacles.
Corals are possessive and will fight other polyps over creatures they catch.
Whole coral colonies fight with each other, stinging other corals, over territory or if they think another colony is too close to them. The coral with the most stinging power will win.
Noddy Turns are birds of the Great Barrier Reef and nod their heads at each other while courting.
Noddies are devoted partners and can be seen together season after season.
Summer warmth causes fish to court.
Parrot fish do a kind of dance together while they are courting.
Surgeon female fish dart to the surface and are pursued by groups of single males. As the females release their eggs, males rush to fertilize them with a puff of white sperm.
The corals spawn on a few particular nights of the year in line with the moon and a specific moon phase.
Young corals float around in the water with billions of other creatures floating around in the plankton.
A baby grouper is a centimeter long and will
eventually grow into a Giant Grouper, over two meters long.
Most reef animals have tiny babies that are carried at the mercy of the current.
Most animals, even corals, can swim to a small degree and can direct themselves.
Each coral baby can grow into a new colony and start a new coral reef.
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