c Commonwealth of Australia ISBN 0 7244 8717 4
Published by GBRMPA (Townsville) 1986
M e s s a g e t o T h e R e a d e r
The p u b l i c a t i o n of Polyp is the result of the efforts of m a n y d e d i c a t e d a n d t a l e n t e d people.
The s t o r y w a s p r e p a r e d as p a r t of a n e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m m e linked to the new m a r i n e e x h i b i t i o n a t the Western A u s t r a l i a n Museum in 1984, a n d i n v o l v e d a l a r g e n u m b e r of p r i m a r y school children in a project to i l l u s t r a t e the story.
The a t t r a c t i o n of the book is due to G e r a l d i n e C a r l i n ' s a b i l i t y to a n i m a t e a coral p o l y p a n d at the s a m e time, provide f a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n on the life cycle of corals in a n e n t e r t a i n i n g m a n n e r . The excellent i l l u s t r a t i o n s , a d d a special a p p e a l to the book, a n d are t e s t i m o n y to the a r t i s t i c skills of the m a n y school children i n v o l v e d in the project.
The coral p o l y p is a t i n y limestone producing a n i m a l which a c t u a l l y b u i l d s coral reefs. U n d e r s t a n d i n g the life cycle of the coral polyp, a n d its i n t e r a c t i o n with other Reef i n h a b i t a n t s , will help y o u n g r e a d e r s to u n d e r s t a n d the m e c h a n i s m s r e s p o n s i b l e for the construction a n d m a i n t e n a n c e of our G r e a t B a r r i e r Reef.
The G r e a t B a r r i e r Reef M a r i n e P a r k A u t h o r i t y is committed to the belief t h a t m a n a g e m e n t of the G r e a t B a r r i e r Reef M a r i n e P a r k is best a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h the education of the c o m m u n i t y , t h e r e b y i n c r e a s i n g their a p p r e c i a t i o n a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the G r e a t B a r r i e r Reef. T h i s book is p u b l i s h e d in the hope of fostering t h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g .
The G r e a t B a r r i e r Reef M a r i n e P a r k A u t h o r i t y is delighted to be able to p u b l i s h Polyp a n d offers the book as p a r t of its contribution to
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Youth Year.
C o v e r : L e l i n h Tran, A g e 11, E a s t H a m e r s l e y P r i m a r y S c h o o l
I "
Geraldine Carlin
Paintings by children from Western Australian Primary Schools
~ Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park
Authority
' G o o d b y e ! G o o d b y e ! ' called t h e voices, growing fainter as the planula drifted away. The water was w a r m and sparkling, and all a r o u n d h i m o t h e r planulae s w a r m e d in the gentle c u r r e n t .
The planula was a little surprised.
He c o u l d n ' t r e m e m b e r h o w he had got there, and he d i d n ' t k n o w w h a t he was a n y w a y .
Drifting t o w a r d s t h e m , trailing long, graceful, glistening threads was a beautiful bell.
S u d d e n l y the water was filled with screaming. Whenever the threads t o u c h e d any of the planulae, t h e y were stung to d e a t h , wriggling and twisting in agony.
His little s w i m m i n g threads
t h r e s h e d wildly as he swam o u t of the way.
'Well!' he t h o u g h t . 'I h o p e I ' m
n o t one of those. But w h a t a m I?'
' H o w b e a u t i f u l ! ' he t h o u g h t . 'I w o n d e r if I'll grow up to be one of t h o s e ? '
3
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O n h e w e n t , d r i f t i n g wiLh tale c u r r e n t . A f l e e t o f t i n y gl~ss-like p r a w n s d a n c e d t h r o u g h Lhe
w a t e r ,
' H o w b e a u t i f u l !' h e t h o u g h t . 'l w o n d e r i f I ' m o n e o f t i l o s e ? ' T h e d a n c i n g c r e a t u r e s s k i p p e d a m o n g t h e s w a r m , s n a t c h i n g
p l a n u J a e o n e b y o n e , a n d g o b b l i n g t h e m d o w n .
'Well]' h e t h o u g h t as h e s w a m a w a y . ' l h o p e I ' m n o t o n e o f t h o s e . B u t w h a t a m I ? ~
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Shimmering and darting, a school of tiny bright fish fla.~hed over- head.
'Well!' h e thought. '[ h o p e I ' m
n o t o n e o f those. B u t w h a t a m I?'
' H o w beautif~tl', h e f~hought. 'I w c m d e r i f I ' m o n e o f t h o s e ? ' T h e l o v e l y t i n y fish d a r t e d d o w n , s n a p p i n g u p v i c t i m s t i l l less
t h a n h a l f t h e p l a n u l a s w a r m was left.
Ka~rLua WJL1]aras, a~e 1", Ka~munda .l'ri~v~, ~ch~-,h~
B e l o w was a carpe~; o f b l u e a~ld r e d flowers.
' H o w b e a u t i f u l ' , h e t h o u g h t .
~I w o n d e r i f I'm o n e o f those.? ~
As t h e .swarm .dri fred a m o n g t h e m , t h e l o n g p e t a l s o f t h e f l o w e r s w h i p p e d o u t .and closed over d o z e n s o f t h e : planulae:, d r a g g i a g t h e m i n t o +~he o p e n m o u t h s tha~
g a p e d i n t h e c e n t r e .of e a c h f l o w e r - l i k e a n e m o n e .
'Well!' h e t h o u B h t . 'I h o p e I'.m
n o t o n e o f t h o s e : B u t w h a t a m I?'
A~hLvx ,S,','h'y. %'e;~i" .I. iklo!cl'J l]F~l~!i ~i'L~ls ~ui'io~'il
T h e c u r r e n t g r e w s~zonger, p u l l i n g h i m d o w n t o t h e d e e p d a r k w a t e r . H e c o u l d f e e l cold a n d d a n g e r r e a c h i n g o u t t o h i m .
' D o n ' t go!' h e y e l l e d . ' S w i m f o r y o u r lives !'
H e t h r e s h e d h i s s w i m m i n g t h r e a d s . H e w a s o n t h e v e r y e d g e w h e r e t h e c u r r e n t w a s w e a k e s t , b u t still h e h a d t o s t r u g g l e t o s w i m clear.
A l l t l l e o t h e r s w e r e p u l l e d d o w n i n t o t h e cold d a r k .
'Well!' h e t h o u g h t . 'I still d o n ' t k n o w w h a t I a m , b u t I d o k n o w I d o n ' t b e l o n g d o w n t h e r e . '
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H e was v e r y tired, H e was so t i r e d h e c o u l d h a r d l y m o v e his s w i m m i n g threads. R i g h t i n f r o n t o f h i m wa.s a b r a n c h i n g r e d coral, w i t h t i n y p o l y p s w a v i n g *.heir t e n t a c l e s f r o m t u b e h o m e s .
'Perhaps t h e y ' l l l e t m e r e s t f o r a w h i l e . T h e y l o o k n i c e a n d Friendly.
I w o n d e r i f I ' m o n e o f t h e m ? ' h e t h o u g h t .
T h e coral p o l y p s s h o u t e d a n d w a v e d t h e i r t e n t a c l e s a n g r i l y . 'Go a w a y ! W r o n g k i n d ] G o a w a y ! ' 'Well', h e t h o u g h t , ' I ' m c e r t a i n l y n o t o n e o f t h e m !'
l l e swe~m o n , m o r e a n d m o r e t i r e d . Everywhere he tried to r e s t p o l y p s shouted and dn>ve h i m away.
'Wrong kind! N~ room! Go away!' Not one kind, re.d, blue or yellow;
round, flat o r br~mc:hing, would let.
h h n stop a n d rest.
He h ~d been s w i m m i n g i b r m o r e t h a n a week.
J u s t when al] h i s s t r e n g t h w a s a l m o s t gem% h e l a n d e d on a s m a l l b a r e rock, He was lx~o tired to go further, l i e w~s even too t i r e d to wonder who hc was. He just w e n t L. sleep.
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'Well w e l l ! So y o u ' v e m o v e d i n , h a v e y o u ? H o u s e w i l l b e g o i n g u p s o o n , I e x p e c t . '
T h e v o i c e w o k e h i m w i t h a start.
A big r o u n d e y e w a s l o o k i n g a t h i m . T h e e y e b e l o n g e d t o a slende~ l i t t l e s t r i p e d fish w i t h a s e t of s h a r p n i p p i n g t e e t h .
'I was just resting for a while', said the planula, looking more at the teeth than the eye.
'In fact, I t h i n k I'll be on my way.'
'I'll be surprised if y o u can,' the teeth grinned.
'Planulae usually d o n ' t go a n y w h e r e once they settle d o w n . '
'But I have to go! I have to find out what I am!'
He threshed his swimming threads, b u t he c o u l d n ' t move.
He was stuck to the rock.
The t e e t h sighed.
'We all have to settle down
sometime. You c a n ' t go on being a planula all y o u r life. You have responsibilities n o w . '
'Responsibilities? What do you mean, responsibilities?'
The fish darted away, circled round the rock and came back with a flick of his striped tail.
'Just checking for customers.
Now where was I? Oh, yes,
responsibilities. Look, while y o u were a planula it was all right just to drift around, enjoying life.
Now t h a t you've begun to be a coral polyp you've got to start building. A good steady job, building. Why, in a few years' time this area could be a first-class housing estate, if y o u take y o u r responsibilities seriously. Have to go. There's an angel fish just pulling in. Bet she wants her gills cleaned. Big responsibility,
running a cleaning station.'
He darted off, fins fluttering, tail flicking and little teeth
snapping.
Planula stopped struggling.
11
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Th~ planula .Sat. and., t h o u g h t , He h o p e d ~he: ~cleani~r -fish W,ou[d c~m~: back a n d tell hin~. mOr~.,abim~.
t.his"responsibilif y bus.ines~,.
b ~ . i f ,was busy w i f h a
sfff~of'
.C:ustemer$,
ar~a S ~ m e d tO ~.av.6;forgo~te~ h:i.m, H e was. f i r m l y 9 sf u e k tO. *ht~. r.c~k. His ,Swimming
thread~,bad disapp~ar6d::.emd h e h a d i~Owh .tentad6s a r o u n d f~he...rnouth at: t h e t ~ p ~f:his tin,dye.
I 2
'At least I have a name. Polyp.
I know what I a m . But what does a coral polyp d o ? '
Just then he noticed a tiny
brownish ball floating in front of him.
'Hello, Polyp', said the ball, politely.
'I was wondering, seeing no one else has moved in yet, if y o u ' d let me share with y o u . '
Polyp was astonished.
'I haven't even begun to build y e t ' , he said.
The ball sat down carefully on one of the tentacles.
'That's just the point. You see, I ' m a special sort of plant cell.
If you let me share with you, right inside y o u r body, I will make it easier for you to make the limestone for y o u r building. I'll even share the food bill. Anyway, I would be paying rent as well.' 'What sort of r e n t ? ' said Polyp.
'Oh, the usual kind, colour. See the yellow coral on the next rock?
One of m y cousins moved in with t h a t polyp when he started out, and now he's got a p a r t m e n t houses going up everywhere. Yellow is such a c o m m o n colour, though.
I t h o u g h t of paying you in pink.' 'You mean, if I give you a home, you will help me to build and colour me pink as well?'
'Yes', said the brown ball, 'and I guarantee y o u w o n ' t even know I've moved in.'
13
A few days later Polyp n o t i c e d t h a t his house guest was right. He was able to build quickly, and soon had a neat little limestone t u b e to hide in during the day. At night, when he e x t e n d e d his tentacles to feed, they were a beautiful rose pink.
However, one thing worried him.
A l u m p was growing on his side.
It grew bigger a n d bigger, day by day. Soon it was nearly as big as he was.
'What ever is it?' t h o u g h t Polyp.
One day, while he was watching it, little tentacles began to unfold.
They were pink, just like his.
'Why' cried Polyp. 'It's a n o t h e r me. I'm b u d d i n g polyps !'
and f o u n d a t i o n s behind. Soon there was a whole a p a r t m e n t block of pink coral where before there had been just Polyp. As the coral grew, o t h e r t e n a n t s m o v e d in.
Tiny fish, crabs and shellfish made h o m e s in the spaces b e t w e e n the branches. Beautiful feathery t u b e worms and feather stars flowered like gardens. S o m e t i m e s b u t t e r f l y fish would swim by and nip off any polyps they saw, and once or twice a p a r r o t fish chewed up a whole branch, b u t - generally the building w e n t ahead well. Polyp was p r o u d .
'Such a well-built housing estate', he t h o u g h t . ' A t this rate, I'll b e c o m e a really big reef builder in no t i m e . '
And so he was. As fast as one began to build its tube, a n o t h e r polyp started to bud. Before long there were so m a n y t h a t they all had to build a new floor and move upstairs, leaving the old walls
15
t P r
16
Polyp was asleep in his t u b e w h e n it started. He w o k e suddenly, with screams for help ringing in his ears, and l o o k e d out. Moving slowly t o w a r d s him was a huge grey shape, covered with orange spines. Each arm had h u n d r e d s of t u b e feet u n d e r n e a t h to grip the coral tightly.
Worst of all, u n d e r n e a t h its b o d y was a m o u t h , and t h r o u g h this m o u t h the creature had p u s h e d o u t its s t o m a c h .
Juices f r o m t h e s t o m a c h ate alive any polyps it t o u c h e d . Slowly it m o v e d , arm by arm, eating the living coral, and where it had
passed only dead, e m p t y , white coral was left.
A C r o w n of T h o r n s starfish!
The screams of dying polyps were all a r o u n d him, b u t at last t h e y faded into t h e distance as the awful creature m o v e d on. F o r a long t i m e P o l y p hid in his tube.
When at last he l o o k e d out, he could hardly believe his eyes.
Nearly all the p i n k polyps had gone.
All the o t h e r residents, fish and shellfish, had m o v e d to o t h e r h o m e s . Only the e m p t y skeleton of his h o u s i n g estate remained.
Creatures which could m o v e scurried f r o m its p a t h . Others, like t h e coral polyps, were eaten.
Closer and closer it came. It came so close Polyp saw one t u b e f o o t cling to the o p e n i n g of his
h o m e .
17
18
It took Polyp a long time to grow enough polyps to start again, and to persuade his other tenants to move back. When at last it was done, and the rosy pink coral again branched out into the w a r m sparkling water of the reef, Polyp started a little plan he had had in mind for some time.
'Budding polyps is all very well, but they can't go anywhere. Here they all are, bits of me, never moving from the same rock I
settled on when I was a planula so long ago. It's about time I did something about it.'
'I', said Polyp, ' a m going to m a k e a planula. A planula can travel the seas and it can start a new reef somewhere else.'
Polyp had thought out his plan well. He grew an egg sac inside his body, and a sperm sac as well. Day by day the egg sac swelled, tighter and tighter. When both sacs were just right, he let the sperm float out
into the water through the mouth at the top of his body.
The egg sac burst, and out popped tiny eggs, which floated into the water too.
All over the colony other coral polyps did the same.
Sperm in the water from other polyps found its way into the eggs, just as Polyp had planned.
Slowly the eggs grew and changed.
In two or three days they grew swimming threads, and buzzed busily around in the water near the colony. Soon there were thousands of planulae s w a r m i n g together in the warm, sparkling water.
Then Polyp knew it was time.
19
' G o o d b y e ! ' cadled P o l y p as t h e planulae drifted slowly in t h e current,, f u r t h e r and f u r t h e r away.
2 '
'Go a n d .find. o u t who y o u are.
Goodbye[ G o o d b y e !
2 0
9 C o r a l P o l y p 9 " ~i. ~:/....:.., ...
LLlust~tor: P.eter Will
mO~ L'&:Om [W.L~D.
