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Created: 2013-05-15
Updated: 2013-05-15

Branches protect by breaking: Caribbean stony coral


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Slide_show_arrows  1 of 2 Branching Coral / HorsePunchKi.. / LicenseCC-by-nc-sa - Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike

Branches of Caribbean stony coral protect the core colony by programmed breakage.

Biomimicry Taxonomy
 
Taxonomy_1 Maintain physical integrity >
Taxonomy_2 Manage structural forces >
Taxonomy_3 Turbulence
Biomimetic Application Ideas
 
For areas prone to hurricanes or tidal waves, build structures or parts of structures with break away features to avoid total destruction of vital core areas.

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[Collapse all sections] Summary
"The Caribbean stony coral Acropora cervicornis forms long, slim branches (a stress increasing shape) supported by brittle skeletal material. We can predict that these corals would break in rapid water flow, yet we find that they thrive on wave-swept forereefs. A. cervicornis do often break, but the broken-off pieces survive and grow. Such 'programmed breakage' and growth appears to be the main mechanism of asexual reproduction and dispersal of A. cervicornis colonies…Furthermore, when bits of an organism or colony break off, the flow forces on the whole structure can be reduced, hence partial breakage can prevent total destruction." (Koehl 1984:67)
About the inspiring organism
Threat Categories LONG_CR Med_5644688923_b4c508b52d_o Acropora cervicornis
Acropora cervicornis (Lamarck, 1816)
[Staghorn coral]

IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered
Habitat(s): Marine Neritic

Some organism data provided by: URMO: UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms
Organism/taxonomy data provided by:
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist
Bioinspired products and application ideas

Application Ideas: For areas prone to hurricanes or tidal waves, build structures or parts of structures with break away features to avoid total destruction of vital core areas.

Industrial Sector(s) interested in this strategy: Construction

References
Koehl, M. A. R. 1984. How do benthic organisms withstand moving water. Amer. Zoologist. 24: 57-70.
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