Israeli Study Explains Xenia's Pulsing

[Gouldian]

A new study by scientists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Technion, Israel's institute of technology, discovered that a soft coral called Heteroxenia, found in the reefs off Eilat, pulsates continually except for a period of one-half-hour just before sunset. The study does not answer the napping question, but the scientists do have a theory.

“During the day the coral uses the photosynthesis to generate its food, and during the night it goes through respiration like other animals,” Uri Shavit, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Technion in Haifa told The Media Line. “Just before sunset when the level of oxygen is very high it can take a rest without harming its metabolism.”

"The pulsation creates the optimal conditions for the photosynthesis of the algae.”

Source: - http://www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/new_israeli_study_explains_corals_pulsation

[peacemaker]

Interesting!