Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum 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 subphylum of marine invertebrates which includes sessile cnidarians such as the sea anemones, stony corals, soft corals and sea pens. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as planktons. 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.
Isis hippuris, also known as sea bamboo, is a species of bamboo coral found in the Western Pacific Ocean, commonly near the coasts of Indonesia. I. hippuris reproduce asexually, and is abundant throughout its habitats in Indonesia. For centuries, I. hippuris has been identified by its bamboo or bony-looking structure. Additionally, it is notable for producing Hippuristanol, a molecule that could potentially have anti-cancer applications. While no actual conclusion regarding Hippuristanol in I. hippuris has been published, scientists and marine biologists continue to study how the molecule could be used in cancer research and recovery. Although only found in the Western Pacific Ocean, I. hippuris is highly sought after across the globe, and is seen as a symbol of beauty.
The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) is a World Heritage listed U.S. National Monument encompassing 583,000 square miles (1,510,000 km2) of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was created in June 2006 with 140,000 square miles (360,000 km2) and expanded in August 2016 by moving its border to the limit of the exclusive economic zone, making it one of the world's largest protected areas. It is internationally known for its cultural and natural values as follows:
The area has deep cosmological and traditional significance for living Native Hawaiian culture, as an ancestral environment, as an embodiment of the Hawaiian concept of kinship between people and the natural world, and as the place where it is believed that life originates and to where the spirits return after death. On two of the islands, Nihoa and Mokumanamana, there are archaeological remains relating to pre-European settlement and use. Much of the monument is made up of pelagic and deepwater habitats, with notable features such as seamounts and submerged banks, extensive coral reefs and lagoons.
Alcyonacea are an order of sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Whilst not in a strict taxonomic sense, Alcyonacea are commonly known as soft corals. The term "soft coral" generally applies to organisms in the two orders Pennatulacea and Alcyonacea with their polyps embedded within a fleshy mass of coenenchymal tissue. Consequently, the term "gorgonian coral" is commonly handed to multiple species in the order Alcyonacea that produce a mineralized skeletal axis composed of calcite and the proteinaceous material gorgonin only and corresponds to only one of several families within the formally accepted taxon Gorgoniidae (Scleractinia). These can be found in order Malacalcyonacea (taxonomic synonyms of include : Alcyoniina, Holaxonia, Protoalcyonaria, Scleraxonia, and Stolonifera. They are sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Common names for subsets of this order are sea fans and sea whips; others are similar to the sea pens of related order Pennatulacea. Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are normally erect, flattened, branching, and reminiscent of a fan. Others may be whiplike, bushy, or even encrusting. A colony can be several feet high and across, but only a few inches thick. They may be brightly coloured, often purple, red, or yellow. Photosynthetic gorgonians can be successfully kept in captive aquaria.
Octocorallia is a class of Anthozoa comprising over 3,000 species of marine organisms formed of colonial polyps with 8-fold symmetry. It includes the blue coral, soft corals, sea pens, and gorgonians within three orders: Alcyonacea, Helioporacea, and Pennatulacea. These organisms have an internal skeleton secreted by mesoglea and polyps with eight tentacles and eight mesentaries. As with all cnidarians these organisms have a complex life cycle including a motile phase when they are considered plankton and later characteristic sessile phase.
Gorgonin is a flexible scleroprotein which provides structural strength to gorgonian corals, a subset of the order Alcyonacea. Gorgonian corals have supporting skeletal axes made of gorgonin and/or calcite. Gorgonin makes up the joints of bamboo corals in the deep sea, and forms the central internal skeleton of sea fans. It frequently contains appreciable quantities of bromine, iodine, and tyrosine.
Davidson Seamount is a seamount located off the coast of Central California, 80 mi (129 km) southwest of Monterey and 75 mi (121 km) west of San Simeon. At 26 mi (42 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide, it is one of the largest known seamounts in the world. From base to crest, the seamount is 7,480 ft (2,280 m) tall, yet its summit is still 4,101 ft (1,250 m) below the sea surface. The seamount is biologically diverse, with 237 species and 27 types of deep-sea coral having been identified.
The habitat of deep-water corals, also known as cold-water corals, extends to deeper, darker parts of the oceans than tropical corals, ranging from near the surface to the abyss, beyond 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) where water temperatures may be as cold as 4 °C (39 °F). Deep-water corals belong to the Phylum Cnidaria and are most often stony corals, but also include black and thorny corals and soft corals including the Gorgonians. Like tropical corals, they provide habitat to other species, but deep-water corals do not require zooxanthellae to survive.
Pisces V is a type of crewed submersible ocean exploration device, powered by battery, and capable of operating to depths of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), a depth that is optimum for use in the sea waters around the Hawaiian Islands. It is used by scientists to explore the deep sea around the underwater banks in the main Hawaiian Islands, as well as the underwater features and seamounts in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, specifically around Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount.
Isidella is a genus of deep-sea bamboo coral in the family Keratoisididae.
Madrepora oculata, also called zigzag coral, is a stony coral that is found worldwide outside of the polar regions, growing in deep water at depths of 50 to at least 1500 meters. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is one of only 12 species of coral that are found worldwide, including in Subantarctic oceans. In some areas, such as in the Mediterranean Sea and the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, it dominates communities of coral. Due to their similar distribution and taxonomic relationship, M. oculata is often experimentally compared to related deep sea coral, Lophelia pertusa.
Coralliidae, also known as precious corals, is a taxonomic family of soft corals belonging to the suborder Scleraxonia of the phylum Cnidaria. These sessile corals are one of the most dominant members of hard-bottomed benthic environments such as seamounts, canyons and continental shelves. From this coral family results 69 descendants in which each species plays a key role in forming habitats for a variety of marine species.
Primnoa pacifica or red tree coral is a species of soft coral in the family Primnoidae. It is a deep water coral found in the North Pacific Ocean, and plays an integral role in supporting benthic ecosystems. Red tree corals grow axially and radially, producing structures of calcite and gorgonian skeletons that form dense thickets. Like other species of coral, red tree coral is made of a soluble form of calcium carbonate, which forms the reef structure, as well as provides food, shelter, and nutrients for surrounding organisms. Amongst the organisms red tree corals provide a home for, many are commercially important fish and crustaceans. These areas of marine habitat are listed as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. However, anthropogenic impacts such as bottom trawling pose large-scale threats to these habitats. There are also concerns about the effects of ocean acidification on red tree coral, since it shares many of the same properties as other corals that are suffering from bleaching.
Hawaiian gold coral is a rare, extremely long-lived deep-sea coral found on seamounts near Hawaii. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Kulamanamana. Most colonies can live up to 2,470 years, based on a study using radiocarbon dating. In the Hawaiian Archipelago of the North Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian gold coral is a crucial species to the ecology of Hawaiian seamounts. This is because it is a dominant macro-invertebrate found in the deep sea, and thus provides an important habitat for an array of invertebrates and fish. Gold coral tissue is reflective under light, and colonies are bioluminescent when mechanically stimulated, or touched. It is predicted that this bioluminescence perhaps attracts prey, however more research is needed to determine exactly what purpose it serves. Although it has been harvested commercially for use in jewelry for a long time, it was not formally described by taxonomists until 2012 when it was found to be related to both the genus Savalia and the octocoral-associated zoanthid, Corallizoanthus tsukaharai. Prior to being formally classified and named Kulamanamana haumeaae, the Hawaiian gold coral was previously known as Gerardia sp.
Chrysogorgia elegans is a species of soft coral in the family Chrysogorgiidae. It is found in the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Soft coral can also be referred to as sea fans, sea whips, sea feathers, and sea pens.
Callogorgia elegans is a species of soft corals in the family Primnoidae. It is found in the north-western Pacific Ocean. Like other coral species, C. elegans is bottom-dwelling and sessile, or immobile.
The Marine Policy of the Barack Obama administration comprises several significant environmental policy decisions for the oceans made during his two terms in office from 2009 to 2017. By executive action, US President Barack Obama increased fourfold the amount of protected marine space in waters under United States control, setting a major precedent for global ocean conservation. Using the U.S. president's authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906, he expanded to 200 nautical miles the seaward limits of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument around the U.S. island possessions in the Central Pacific. In the Atlantic, Obama created the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the first marine monument in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Atlantic.
Narella is a genus of deep-sea soft corals in the family Primnoidae (Milne Edwards, 1857). They are sessile, bottom-dwelling organisms that can be found in all ocean basins, having cosmopolitan distribution. They have a branching appearance.
Lobophytum batarum is a species of Devil's Hand Coral or Lobophytum found in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
