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Coral Reproduction

In Coral Reproduction, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores how coral reproduce sexually and asexually and how they maximize their chances of survival using timing to synchronize their activity. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.

Video Details
Location:
Great Barrier Reef
Grades:
Program:
Blue Planet I
Time:
2:58
Subject:

Lesson Express

Q: How do coral synchronize their activity?
A: The coral uses the rising water temperatures in spring and the phases of the Moon to synchronize.

Q: When do the coral in the Great Barrier Reef spawn?
A: A few days after the full Moon, in late spring, the coral spawns when tidal currents are at their weakest.

Q: How do the coral maximize their chances of reproducing?
A: Each type of coral times the release of its egg and sperm to a certain time and night.

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