![]() The genus includes species that vary both in mode of reproduction and sexual expression (McFadden, 2000). The soft coral genus Alcyonium is among the most reproductively diverse invertebrate taxa known. The majority of colonies are either male or female, < 1% are hermaphroditic and these have both apparently functional ova and testes which may develop within the same polyp (Hartnoll, 1977). The lifespan certainly exceeds 20 years as colonies have been followed for 28 years in marked plots (Lundälv, pers. Observations of marked colonies showed that colonies 10-15 cm in height were between 5 and 10 years old (Hartnoll, unpublished). ![]() comm.).Įvidence suggests that Alcyonium digitatum has an extensive lifespan.
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