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Interesting Facts about Sea Whips
[Sea Whip Phylum: Cnidaria] [Class: Anthozoa] [Order: Alcyonacea] [Family: Ellisellidae]
Even though the phrase "sea whip" often includes whip-like gorgonians, true sea whips are soft corals in the order Alcyonacea that often have long, brightly coloured branches.
This section contains information about sea whip corals, including where they're found, what they eat, and how the colonies of tiny polyps grow into whippy flagellated structures.
Sea Whip Geographical Range and Habitats
Like almost all soft coral filter-feeders, whip corals also need a marine environment with current-rich, warm water.
Globally they can be seen thriving at tropical and subtropical reefs, but particularly:
- Australia (e.g. the Great Barrier Reef, north New Zealand)
- Indo-Pacific Regions (Indonesia, Philippines)
- Southern Japan (Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa)
- Western Atlantic (Bahamas, Florida, the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico)
Albeit less often, some species of sea whips also live in the deep terrains of the transition zones in some temperate waters (many thousands of metres deep).
Nonetheless, they are strictly 'marine invertebrates' that would not survive in brackish or freshwater environments.
Instead, they thrive best when they can attach themselves to robust substrates, such as coral reefs, rocks, or even the skeletal bones of dead corals.
Here's the thing:
The optimum depth range for most types of sea whips is quite shallow, for strong sunlight penetration. As a result, the habitats of most sea whip colonies tend to be between ten (10) and forty (40) metres (30 to 130 feet) below the surface.
Furthermore, the colonies of tiny filter-feeding polyps grow a lot faster in areas with strong water currents, due to a rich supply of plankton and other microscopic food particles.
Characteristics of the Sea Whip
So, what exactly is a sea whip? Using simplified sea life terminology, the basic definition of sea whips is a delicate whip-like soft coral that belongs with the order Alcyonacea and the family Ellisellidae.
Unlike many of the hard coral species that create rigid reef structures, such as staghorn coral, the basic shape and structure is usually whip-shaped or branching and flexible enough to shake or sway (without breaking) if the ocean currents are strong.
Moving on...
Flexible scleroprotein (known as gorgonin) creates the main structural strength of the skeleton. In most species, it provides strong support for the outer branches of the colony - along with any additional branching twigs or tissues.
Sea whips grow in a variety of sizes and colours, many with bright hues of red, purple, orange, and yellow.
The average size of a sea whip ranges between fifteen (15) and sixty (60) centimetres long.
Even so, some Ellisella species are not much bigger than ten (10) centimetres. Whereas, certain species of Junceella can grow up to three (3) metres long.
The Ecological Importance of Sea Whips
One of the little-known sea whip facts is that their branches provide essential shelter for a variety of marine organisms.
Not only do these elegant structures host brittle stars, pygmy seahorses, and ocean shrimps, but they also help to filter sea water and contribute to the healthy biodiversity in coral reef ecosystems.
Interesting Fact: It's easy to think that common sea whips and sea fan corals are the same. Actually, both are types of gorgonians - and closely related - but they differ in several important ways.
What Do Sea Whips Eat?
As the tiny polyps grow, which may be as little as a few centimetres per year, they spread outwards and usually face the prevailing oceanic currents. This adaptation creates a large surface area for them to ensnare their prey and sift plankton particles from the water column.
Types of Sea Whip Corals
Angular Sea Whip (Pterogorgia anceps)
Colourful Sea Whip (Leptogorgia virgulata)
Delicate Sea Whip (Junceella fragilis)
Giant Black Coral Whip (Cirrhipathes)
Long Sea Whip (Ellisella elongata)
Violescent Sea-whip (Paramuricea clavata)
Yellow Sea Whip (Pterogorgia citrina)
How Do Sea Whips Reproduce?
Sea whip reproduction can occur in two distinctly different ways, sexually and asexual budding. Either way, both of these reproductive methods are vital for the long term survival of sea whip populations.
Sexual Reproduction
The primary method used by sea whips to create new colonies is broadcast spawning. Most whip coral species have separate colonies of males and females (they are dioecious animals).
After releasing thousands of eggs and sperm into open water, usually aligned with temperature changes or moon phases, random fertilisation occurs.
Then...
Fertilised eggs develop into larval planulae before they eventually sink to the ocean floor and attach themselves to a suitable rigid surface (e.g. coral) and grow as a new colony. This is how sea whips are able to spread across wide-ranging areas.
Asexual Reproduction
The process known as "asexual budding" is a way for damaged colonies to recover from fragmentation (e.g. pieces broken off by destructive storms).
Individual polyps, or fragments of the coral, reattach themselves to a substrate and begin to grow, thereby expanding the size of the colony.
Sea Whip Threats and Predators
Even though sea whips tend to be quite resilient, a number of natural and human-induced activities threaten the long term survival of healthy reef ecosystems.
For example, some of the natural predators of sea whips cause large amounts of destruction, especially:
- Bearded fireworms (Hermodice carunculata)
- Nudibranchs
- Fish species (e.g. butterflyfishes, parrotfishes)
- Sea sponges
- The flamingo tongue snail (Cyphoma gibbosum)
Whereas, some of the most damaging human-caused threats include coral diseases (e.g. Aspergillosis), climate change (including ocean acidification), underwater garbage pollution, and overfishing.