Incredible: These Brain-Shaped Corals Are Protecting Our Planet

© Egor Kamelev/Pexels

In the azure depths of the oceans unfolds a spectacle whose beauty defies understanding: coral formations with enigmatic convolutions that recall the shape of our brain. This is why marine biologists have aptly named them “brain corals“. Present for thousands of years in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean Sea and Bermuda, their resistance is unfailing and they are true allies of our planet.

Millennial builders

Brain corals belong to the large family of hard corals, organisms capable of building real underwater cities. Divided into the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, they include around fifty distinct species, each with specific adaptations to its environment.

Their particularity lies in their community lifestyle: the polyps that compose them, related to jellyfish and anemones, merge to form interconnected colonies where the pooling of resources becomes the rule. This elaborate social organization allows them to optimize their growth and survival in sometimes extreme conditions.

A brain coral belonging to the species Diploria labyrinthiformis. © Oceana

Several times a year, colonies release packets of eggs and sperm into the surrounding waters. These gametes, captured by other polyps, ensure fertilization throughout the colony, thus allowing the maintenance and expansion of these living structures. This reproductive strategy guarantees them a rich genetic diversity, necessary for their adaptation to environmental changes.

Brain corals, foundations of marine life

The construction of their calcareous skeleton is the result of a complex biochemical process. Polyps extract calcium and carbonate ions from the water to build their structure, creating the very foundation of coral reefs. This complex architecture serves as a refuge and habitat for a multitude of marine species, making them true ecological engineers.

The collective intelligence of these organisms is manifested in their ability to establish complex symbioses. By associating with zooxanthellae, the microscopic algae that inhabit their tissues, these corals ensure their survival. Indeed, these photosynthetic microorganisms transform solar energy into essential nutrients for their coral hosts, while giving them their characteristic hues. It is this symbiosis that gives them this typical chromatic palette, which extends from deep brown to subtle shades of yellow and gray.

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This living architecture is, as previously written, the base of a gigantic ecological waterfall; the crevices and folds of brain corals create a myriad of microhabitats, each home to a specific community of organisms. From the smallest crustaceans to reef fish, each species finds its niche in this underwater labyrinth, contributing to the establishment of intricate food webs that support marine biodiversity.

Guardians of the Global Climate Balance

If the Amazon rainforest is called the “green lung” of our planet, so are temperate forests; Brain corals also play a key role in the health of our planet. As natural carbon sinks, they actively participate in regulating the ocean carbon cycle.Indeed, their calcification process, by which they build their skeleton, sequesters significant quantities of carbon in the form of calcium carbonate, thus helping to mitigate ocean acidification.

Although their growth is extremely slow – a few millimeters per year – their longevity can reach 900 years. However, these living structures remain very vulnerable to environmental disturbances. The bleaching phenomenon, caused by the expulsion of zooxanthellae under the effect of thermal stress, considerably weakens these organisms.

Nevertheless, even after their death, these formations continue to play an essential ecological role: over time, the limestone skeletons overlap and agglomerate, forming the elementary bricks of these gigantic natural buildings that are coral reefs.

D. labyrinthiformis, a species of brain coral, has a rather remarkable reproductive capacity, highlighted by this study conducted in 2016. It is capable of reproducing six times a year, a rare figure among corals. ” This is the largest number of annual reproductive events ever observed in an externally reproducing Caribbean coral species ,” the researchers state in their paper.

However, the future of these marine architects is now clouded. A recent report indicates that 44% of reef-building corals are now classified as threatened. The Chagos brain coral, endemic to the British archipelago of the same name located in the northern Indian Ocean, illustrates this precariousness: once considered extinct, it is now classified as critically endangered.

The preservation of these ” brains of the oceans ” therefore constitutes a huge environmental challenge. Their protection requires concerted action in the face of climate change and the increase in bleaching episodes. Because beyond their unparalleled beauty, these organisms represent precious allies in the fight against climate change, maintaining a balance on which the health of our oceans depends and, by extension, that of our entire planet.

• Brain corals are age-old marine organisms that are essential for biodiversity, sheltering many species in their complex structures.
• Their ecological role is fundamental, participating in the regulation of ocean carbon and the preservation of marine ecosystems.
• They are now weakened by climate change and bleaching.

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