Life Cycle of a Coral

Coral, like other living things, has a life cycle. Although there are 40 species of corals, most follow the same life cycle of reproduction, growth, and death.

Coral reproduces in two different ways. The first way is called sexual reproduction. The female adult coral reproduces fertilizing eggs. The eggs can be fertilized inside the body of the coral and then released, or the eggs can be released and then fertilized. The release of the eggs and sperm is call spawning. Spawning occurs once a year, and in Hawaii the event can be seen one to four days after the rise of the new moon either in June of July. The eggs then plant themselves onto dead or live coral and begin to grow to adulthood.

The second way coral reproduces is called asexual reproduction. This process is also called budding. Budding occurs when a polyp from an adult coral grows big enough to survive on its own and separates from the older coral. At this point, the polyp is considered coral, an individual part of the coral reef. As a colonial coral produces more polyps, the lower members die and new layers are built up on the old skeletons, forming coral reefs.