A Call for Giant Coral Sightings

[csaenger]

I'm a novice diver, but also an oceanography graduate student. I research climate change and how it affects corals. In order to assess how global warming is changing the reefs, I need to find the largest reef-building corals (large brain corals, Montastrea, Diploria, Siderastrea species). Ideal sites are in the Bahamas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Curacao/Bonaire, Belize, and Yucatan, but really any coral that's larger than 2 meters tall is of great interest. I would love to read accounts of any massive coral sightings: where you saw them, how long ago, if you have pictures. Thanks for any help, and continuing enjoying our oceans.
Cheers,
Casey Saenger
MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography

 

[mjh]

Ok not the regions you are looking for and probably not the type of coral you want...

Location, Milne Bay PNG, Seen 12.24.05, At least 7ft tall and 4ft across. My wife is right above it.

 

[archman]

If we tell you where they are, you're going to stick a drill into them, aren't you?eyebrow

 

[RonFrank]

There are some fairly massive Brain Coral in the Keys. I'm not sure that this coral is 2 meters, but likely that wide, maybe not that tall. It was a LOT bigger than me This was at North Dry Rocks I believe, last summer.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/30381/cat/500/ppuser/31565
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/29354/cat/500/perpage/18/ppuser/31565
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/28080/cat/500/perpage/18/ppuser/31565

 

[MSilvia]

Flower Garden Bank NMS has some ENORMOUS corals... definately the biggest brain corals I've seen. I have some old photos at home. They aren't very good, but they pretty clearly show brain corals well in excess of 3m diameter.

 

[archman]

Flower Garden Bank NMS has some ENORMOUS corals... definately the biggest brain corals I've seen. I have some old photos at home. They aren't very good, but they pretty clearly show brain corals well in excess of 3m diameter.

Oh yes... and the nice thing about them is, they've already been cored. I'm sure the cores are even still lying around someplace... you'll have to ask Emma Hickerson at the Sanctuary office.

 

[csaenger]

Thanks for you insight thus far, and future contributions. For full disclosure, archman is correct that we would be interested in coring these corals, but not in a malicious, reckless nature. Corals will likely be the first organisms to suffer significant set backs as global warming continues (more CO2 in the atmosphere will go into the oceans, making waters more acidic and essentially dissolving corals). If we can understand how coral has responded to past climate changes, we'll hopefully be able to make a stronger argument for enacting policy to reduce greenhouse gases and preserve reefs. If we can collect the climate history we need from corals that have already been cored, that's great. I'll contact Emma Hickerson, and see what information she can provide.
Cheers,
Casey

 

[Hank49]

Kill the coral drillers!!

 

[archman]

Kill the coral drillers!!

Coral drillers aren't quite as bad as lionfish.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

I know where there are som BIG undrilled corals...

...and they'll stay that way