Calcium carbonate

[Cory]

Does phosphate make coral skeletons stronger or weaker thats bound to it?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Does phosphate make coral skeletons stronger or weaker thats bound to it?

Bound to the outside, I expect is does neither. Like paint on a bridge.

 

[Cory]

What do you think about this article?

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

Phosphate contamination can negatively affect corals, modifying growth rates, skeletal density, reproduction, mortality, and zooxanthellae. We determi…

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don't have any particular opinion on that article and what it implies, but I was not answering about skeletons grown in high phosphate, I was just answering the specific question about phosphate "bound to" skeletons. If grown in elevated phosphate, the skeleton may change for reasons both related to and unrelated to phosphate interacting with the actual calcium carbonate.

 

[Cory]

Ah okay I wasnt specific sorry.

What would make a stronger skeleton as opposed to weaker one?