| Dipsastraea speciosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dipsastraea speciosa on Kingman Reef, Line Islands | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Merulinidae |
| Genus: | Dipsastraea |
| Species: | D. speciosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Dipsastraea speciosa | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Dipsastraea speciosa (previously called Favia speciosa) is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is found in tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Dipsastraea speciosa has rounded to very elongated corallites, with diameters of 10 to 15 mm. The corallites are separated by broad walls, with a distance of 3 to 6 mm between individual corallites. [3] This species can be distinguished from the more common Dipsastraea pallida , with which it has often been confused, by its septa, which are fine, numerous, and regularly spaced. Both the septa and costae have fine, evenly spaced teeth.
Colonies of Dipsastraea speciosa are massive in their growth habit. The corallites are crowded together, subcircular, with calices up to 12 mm in diameter. Their coloration ranges, including pale grey, green or brown, usually with calices of contrasting color. Colonies of Dipsastraea speciosa tend to be massive.
It is a tropical coral found in all shallow, tropical reef environments in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It can be found at depths ranging from 0 to 40m. [1] It can be found in all reef environments, sub-tidal on rocks, rocky reefs, outer reef channels, black and fore-slopes and in lagoons. Dipsastraea speciosa prefers waters ranging from 23° to 29 °C but can tolerate temperatures slightly above and below.
Like most other corals, they contain photosynthetic algae, called zooxanthellae. Dipsastraea speciosa and the algae have a mutualistic relationship. The algae live within the coral polyps and use sunlight to make energy. The coral provides protection and the compounds needed for photosynthesis. In return, the algae produce oxygen and help the coral to remove waste. Most importantly, the zooxanthellae supply the coral with glucose, glycerol and amino acids. The coral then uses these to make proteins, fats, and carbohydrates which help produce their calcium carbonate skeleton. The relationship between the zooxanthellae and the coral polyp creates a tight recycling of nutrients in nutrient-poor tropical waters and is the driving force behind the growth and productivity of the reef. [4]
In addition, corals also eat through filter feeding. At night, coral polyps come out of their skeletons to feed, stretching their nematocysts to capture plankton floating by. The prey is then pulled into the polyps' mouths and digested in their stomach cavity. [5]
Dipsastraea speciosa is a hermaphrodite meaning they produce both sperm and egg gametes for reproduction. Mature corals use energy to produce their gametes through meiosis. Dipsastraea speciosa then release their gametes into the water column. The gametes float to the surface and external fertilization takes place. [6] Once the egg is fertilized it becomes a zygote develops into a planktonic larva called planula and floats around the water column by currents. The planula is a type of zooplankton that is able to maneuver by cilia that cover its body. Eventually, the planula settles on a hard substrate and begins to undergo metamorphosis transforming it from a juvenile to an adult. The juvenile polyp begins to lay down a calcium carbonate corallite and begins early morphogenesis of tentacles, septa, and pharynx before larval settlement on the aboral end. [7] Since it is a colonial coral, the polyp then goes through asexual reproduction to form more polyps, expanding the size of the coral colony and increasing the number of coral polyps.
Dipsastraea speciosa is one of the types of corals that synchronizes its time of spawning. This reproductive synchrony increases the likelihood that male and female gametes will meet. Spawning tends to take place in the evening or at night, around the last quarter moon of the lunar cycle. [8] [9] [10] A full moon is equivalent to four to six hours of continuous dim light exposure, which can cause light-dependent reactions in protein. [8] [11] Corals contain light-sensitive cryptochromes, proteins whose light-absorbing flavin structures are sensitive to different types of light. This allows corals such as Dipsastraea speciosa to detect and respond to changes in sunlight and moonlight. [8] Moonlight itself may actually suppress coral spawning. The most immediate cue to cause spawning appears to be the dark portion of the night between sunset and moonrise. Over the lunar cycle, moonrise shifts progressively later, occurring after sunset on the day of the full moon. The resulting dark period between day-light and night-light removes the suppressive effect of moonlight and enables coral to spawn. [8] [9] Light pollution desynchronizes spawning in some coral species. [8]
Dipsastraea speciosa was cited as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List in January 2008 although its population trend is decreasing. [1] It faces threats such as residential and commercial development, transportation and services through shipping lanes, fishing, and harvesting for aquatic resources like aquariums, human recreational activities, pollution such as domestic and urban wastewater and climate change. [12] Parts of the range of Dipsastraea speciosa fall within Marine Protected Areas providing them some protection.
Dipsastraea speciosa is often a subject of research because it is a good indicator of the overall health of the ecosystem. It has been studied to better understand reef formation and maintenance of coral reef ecosystems and their response to changing environments. In one study, Dipsastraea speciosa was tested to see how its morphological, physiological or behavioral expression of a genotype is effected by environment-dependent variation. To test this, plastic was transplanted into corals found at shallow and deep depths. It was found that the shallow water corals showed little to no change, but the deeper corals responded by changing dramatically. The oral disks lost their bright green pigmentation and the surrounding tissues turned pale brown. This showed that plasticity in color was evident and probably light-induced. [12]
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.
Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.
Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mouth is fringed with tentacles. Although some species are solitary, most are colonial. The founding polyp settles and starts to secrete calcium carbonate to protect its soft body. Solitary corals can be as much as 25 cm (10 in) across but in colonial species the polyps are usually only a few millimetres in diameter. These polyps reproduce asexually by budding, but remain attached to each other, forming a multi-polyp colony of clones with a common skeleton, which may be up to several metres in diameter or height according to species.
Porites astreoides, commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae.
Pavona duerdeni, the porkchop coral, is a coral that forms clusters of cream-colored lobes or discs. They grow in large colonies, divided into ridges or hillocks. The coral is considered to be uncommon due to its low confirmed abundance, yet they are more commonly found in Hawaii, the Indo-Pacific, and the Tropical Eastern Pacific. They make up some of the largest colonies of corals, and have a slow growth rate, as indicated by their dense skeletons. Their smooth appearance is due to their small corallites growing on their surface.
Galaxea fascicularis is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Euphylliidae, commonly known as octopus coral, fluorescence grass coral, galaxy coral among various vernacular names.
Porites lobata, known by the common name lobe coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is found growing on coral reefs in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Favia fragrum is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Mussidae. It is commonly known as the golfball coral and is found in tropical waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Siderastrea radians, also known as the lesser starlet coral or the shallow-water starlet coral, is a stony coral in the family Siderastreidae. It is found in shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean as small, solid mounds or encrusting sheets.
Pseudodiploria clivosa, the knobby brain coral, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Mussidae. It occurs in shallow water in the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
Lobophyllia corymbosa, also known as lobed cactus coral or brain root coral, is a species of large polyp stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow waters in the Red Sea, off the coast of East Africa, and in other parts of the tropical Indo-Pacific.
Pavona cactus, the cactus coral, potato chip coral or leaf coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Agariciidae. This coral is found in shallow waters on reefs and in lagoons in tropical parts of the Indo-Pacific region.
Cynarina lacrymalis is a species of stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. It is variously known as the flat cup coral, solitary cup coral, button coral, doughnut coral, or cat's eye coral. It is found in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean and is sometimes kept in reef aquaria.
Pocillopora verrucosa, commonly known as cauliflower coral, rasp coral, or knob-horned coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Platygyra lamellina, the hard brain coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "near threatened".
Euphylliidae are known as a family of polyped stony corals under the order Scleractinia.
Pocillopora capitata, commonly known as the cauliflower coral, is a principal hermatypic coral found in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. P. capitata is a colonial species of stony coral of the class Anthozoa, the order Scleractinia, and the family Pocilloporidae. This species was first documented and described by Addison Emery Verrill in 1864. P. capitata is threatened by many of the effects of climate change, including — but not limited to — increased temperatures that cause bleaching and hypoxic conditions.
Dipsastraea pallida is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is found in tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This is a common species of coral with a widespread distribution, and the main threat it faces is from the destruction of its coral reef habitats. It is rated as a "least-concern species" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This species was first described in 1846 as Favia pallida by the American zoologist James Dwight Dana; it was later transferred to the genus Dipsastraea, but some authorities continue to use the original name.
Tubastraea faulkneri, common name Orange sun coral, is a species of large-polyp stony corals belonging to the family Dendrophylliidae. Other common names of this coral are Orange Cup Coral, Sun Coral, Orange Polyp Coral, Rose Sun Coral, Golden Cup Coral, Sun Flower Coral, and Tube Coral.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)