Pocillopora

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Pocillopora
Pocillopora meandrina with a resident fish.jpg
Pocillopora meandrina with a resident fish
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Pocilloporidae
Genus: Pocillopora
Lamarck, 1816
Species
See text

Pocillopora is a genus of stony corals in the family Pocilloporidae occurring in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. [1] They are commonly called cauliflower corals and brush corals.

Contents

Description

Cauliflower corals are widespread and can be identified by the presence of wart-like growths on their surface. The colonies can be dome shaped or branching and are very variable in colour and shape depending on the species and the environmental conditions. Species situated on shallow reefs pounded by the sea tend to be stunted whilst those in deep calm water are often thin and open. Each individual polyp has tentacles but these are normally extended only at night. [2]

Biology

The polyps are hermaphrodite, possessing four sets of male and four sets of female gonads. Pocillopora can reproduce asexually via fragmentation. [3] They also reproduce sexually and the larvae develop inside the polyps rather than free floating in the water, a reproduction strategy known as brooding. When they are mature, the larvae are released and can remain free-swimming for several weeks before settling on the substrate. [4]

Pocillopora corals contain microscopic symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) living within them. Through photosynthesis, these algae produce energy-rich molecules that the coral polyps can assimilate. In return, the coral provides the algae with protection and access to sunlight. The polyps also feed by capturing tiny particles using their tentacles. These corals are widespread because they sometimes attach to floating objects and can be carried far afield by currents and wind. [1]

Species

The World Register of Marine Species includes the following species in the genus: [5]

Non exhaustive gallery of symbionts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scleractinia</span> Order of Hexacorallia which produce a massive stony skeleton

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brain coral</span> Common name for various corals

Brain coral is a common name given to various corals in the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain. Each head of coral is formed by a colony of genetically identical polyps which secrete a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate; this makes them important coral reef builders like other stony corals in the order Scleractinia. Brain corals are found in shallow warm water coral reefs in all the world's oceans. They are part of the phylum Cnidaria, in a class called Anthozoa or "flower animals". The lifespan of the largest brain corals is 900 years. Colonies can grow as large as 1.8 m (6 ft) or more in height.

<i>Acropora</i> Genus of stony coral

Acropora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. Acropora species are some of the major reef corals responsible for building the immense calcium carbonate substructure that supports the thin living skin of a reef.

<i>Montipora</i> Genus of corals

Montipora is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of the genus Montipora may exhibit many different growth morphologies. With eighty five known species, Montipora is the second most species rich coral genus after Acropora.

<i>Pocillopora meandrina</i> Species of coral

Pocillopora meandrina, commonly known as cauliflower coral, is a species of coral occurring in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific oceans. This coral lives in shallow reef environments.

<i>Goniopora</i> Genus of corals

Goniopora, often called flowerpot coral, is a genus of colonial stony coral found in lagoons and turbid water conditions. Goniopora have numerous daisy-like polyps that extend outward from the base, each tipped with 24 stinging tentacles which surrounds a mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocilloporidae</span> Family of corals

The Pocilloporidae are a family of stony corals in the order Scleractinia occurring in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

<i>Cycloseris</i> Genus of corals

Cycloseris is a genus of solitary disc corals in the family Fungiidae. They are found in the Indo-Pacific. They inhabit the lower reef slopes, and the areas between reefs with soft sediments. They tolerate turbid waters.

<i>Galaxea</i> Genus of corals

Galaxea is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Euphylliidae. Common names include crystal, galaxy, starburst and tooth coral. They are abundant on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region and the Red Sea. They are found in water less than 20 metres (66 ft) deep and favour turbid sites. They are sometimes kept in reef aquaria.

Pocillopora inflata is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It was first described by Peter William Glynn in 1999. It is found growing on coral reefs in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean but is nowhere abundant.

<i>Hydnophora</i> Genus of corals

Hydnophora is a genus of large polyp stony corals in the family Merulinidae.

<i>Pavona</i> (coral) Genus of corals

Pavona is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Agariciidae. These corals are found in shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific region.

<i>Pocillopora damicornis</i> Species of coral

Pocillopora damicornis, commonly known as the cauliflower coral or lace 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.

<i>Pocillopora verrucosa</i> Species of coral

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.

<i>Alveopora</i> Genus of corals

Alveopora is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Acroporidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and are often found on reef slopes in turbid water. They are generally uncommon.

<i>Goniastrea</i> Genus of corals

Goniastrea is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Species belonging to the genus Goniastrea forms massive colonies, usually spherical or elongate, with well developed paliform lobes. Polyps can be seen only at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euphylliidae</span> Family of marine coral known as Euphylliidae

Euphylliidae are known as a family of polyped stony corals under the order Scleractinia.

<i>Pocillopora elegans</i> Species of coral

Pocillopora elegans is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the western, central and eastern Pacific Ocean. It is susceptible to bleaching and various coral diseases and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed it as a "vulnerable species".

References

  1. 1 2 Veron, J.E.N. (2000) Corals of the World. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townville, Australia.
  2. Veron, J.E.N. (1986) Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Angus & Robertson Publishers, London, UK.
  3. Green, E. and Shirley, F. (1999) The Global Trade in Corals. World Conservation Press, Cambridge, UK.
  4. "ARKive". Archived from the original on 2011-03-13. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
  5. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Pocillopora Lamarck, 1816". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
  6. Schmidt-Roach S, Miller KJ, Andreakis N (2013) Pocillopora aliciae: a new species of scleractinian coral (Scleractinia, Pocilloporidae) from subtropical Eastern Australia. Zootaxa 3626: 576–582.
  7. Schmidt-Roach S, Miller KJ, Lundgren P, Andreakis N (2014) With eyes wide open: a revision of species within and closely related to the Pocillopora damicornis species complex (Scleractinia; Pocilloporidae) using morphology and genetics. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 170: 1-33.