Coral, in general, is very fragile, but here in Connecticut it’s quite strong and marine biologists have recently discovered the plant attaching itself to other marine life.
Coral usually is only found in warm water, but Northern Star Coral can live in the cold waters of Long Island Sound.
“This coral is really interesting because it lives in the depth range from zero actually up to 90 meters deep,” said Beth Patrizzi, a marine biologist in Clinton.
Patrizzi discovered the coral attaching itself to spider crabs, also known as decorator crabs.
“It’s the first time in Long Island Sound coral has ever been seen to settle on an animal that moves,” she said.
The discovery may help to save coral that is disappearing from the southern united States.
“If we have a coral that’s hardy enough to reproduce in a lab setting, it might mean that we can use with the Caribbean relative so that we can see why does this specific coral have such a high tolerance, whereas the tropical corals do not, so it’s a possible model organism,” Patrizzi said.
Patrizzi and her fellow researcher plan to publish their findings in a science journal.