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Staghorn corals are the dominant group of reef builders. They come in many shapes and sizes and can be highly variable in colour and form, even within the same species.Most are either a branching variant or a wall/ table top variant shaped and some are encrusting (growing over rock structures).
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. [1] Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and ...
The baseline survey of marine biodiversity in the Solomon Islands that was carried out in 2004, [1] found 474 species of corals in the Solomons as well as nine species which could be new to science. This is the second highest diversity of corals in the World, second only to the Raja Ampat Islands in eastern Indonesia.
Acropora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. [3] Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. [4] Acropora species are some of the major reef corals responsible for building the immense calcium carbonate substructure that supports the thin living skin ...
A. tenuifolia is a zooxanthellate species of coral, having symbiotic unicellular dinoflagellates housed in its tissues. These are photosynthetic and use the sun's energy to create nutrients which the coral is able to use and on which it relies for much of its nutritional needs.
The classification of corals has been discussed for millennia, owing to having similarities to both plants and animals. Aristotle's pupil Theophrastus described the red coral, korallion, in his book on stones, implying it was a mineral, but he described it as a deep-sea plant in his Enquiries on Plants, where he also mentions large stony plants that reveal bright flowers when under water in ...
Pages in category "Coral reefs" The following 99 pages are in this category, out of 99 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ...
Coral reefs are one of the most well-known marine ecosystems in the world, with the largest being the Great Barrier Reef. These reefs are composed of large coral colonies of a variety of species living together. The corals from multiple symbiotic relationships with the organisms around them. [21] Coral reefs are being heavily affected by global ...