Lophelia Pertusa(L.): Electrical Conduction and Behaviour in a Deep-Water Coral

Abstract

Tropical reef corals have been studied extensively in the last hundred years from the geological, ecological and, more recently, from the behavioural and physiological points of view (e.g. Darwin, 1896; Vaughan & Wells, 1943; Wells, 1959; Jones & Endean, 1973, 1976; Horridge, 1957; Shelton, 1975 a,b; Anderson, 1976 a,b; Shelton & McFarlane, 1976 a,b; McFarlane, 1978). By contrast, little attention has been paid to the deep, cold water corals such asLophelia pertusa(L.) although they are in many ways just as spectacular in appearance and secrete massive calcareous skeletons. Zibrowius (1976) gives some data on the occurrenceof Lopheliaand its nomenclature while Wilson (1979 a,b)describes its distribution in the north-east Atlantic and its development in ‘patches’ on Rockall Bank. This paper, however, provides the first descriptions of the behaviour and co-ordination ofLopheliaand the electrical conduction mechanisms underlying their control. The results are compared with those from similar experiments upon tropical species. They give insights into colony growth and co-ordination and into possible primitive behavioural control mechanisms.