Highlights
- Consistent flow patterns are observed in Acropora coral CT scans-based simulations
- Implications of these patterns for coral growth are discussed in detail
- A prediction of coral skeleton dissolution under ocean acidification is presented
Summary
Many marine life forms, like Acropora coral, develop abiotic components to host and support the growth of living organisms. Using numerical models based on real coral samples reconstructed from micro-computed tomography (CT) scan images, we simulated internal flows inside the skeletons of Acropora pulchra coral under the influence of ambient ocean currents. The results showed that the coral’s skeletal structure, with specially connected pore space, leads to the flow and material transport within and through the skeleton to assist the coral growth and stability. However, under intensified ocean acidification, the skeletal internal flow may induce the dissolution of aragonite inside the skeleton and weaken the whole coral structure.
Tian Y., Zhang P., Huang H., Lei L., Torres S. A. G. & Li L., 2025. Internal hydrodynamics within the skeleton of Acropora pulchra coral. iScience 28(2): 111742. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.111742. Article.
