A cup of 'sea'

Nestled on the seabed in the Bay of Bengal off Saint Martin’s Island, this solitary orange cup coral, likely Balanophyllia, opens like a flower, its ridged cups revealing the hard skeleton beneath. Balanophyllia is a genus of solitary stony corals, with species recorded across the Central Indian Ocean, including the Bay. Unlike many reef-building corals, Balanophyllia species can lack symbiotic algae, instead capturing zooplankton and other drifting food with stinging tentacles. Often attached to hard surfaces, some favour caves and shaded overhangs. Such corals add structure and habitat to marine ecosystems, supporting other aquatic organisms. However, warming seas, pollution, sedimentation and ocean acidification increasingly stress corals, damaging habitat and, when stress persists, causing mortality and biodiversity loss.
 

PHOTO: SHARIF SARWAR

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