Tubastraea

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Tubastraea
Suncoral1.jpg
Tubastraea coccinea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Dendrophylliidae
Genus: Tubastraea
Species
Synonyms
List
  • AstropsammiaVerrill, 1869
  • CoenopsammiaMilne Edwards & Haime, 1848
  • PachypsammiaVerrill, 1866
  • PlacopsammiaDuncan, 1876
  • Tubastaea [lapsus]
  • TubastreaLesson, 1829 [lapsus]

Tubastraea, also known as sun coral or sun polyps, is a genus of coral in the phylum Cnidaria. It is a cup coral in the family Dendrophylliidae.

Contents

Description

Sun corals belong to a group of corals known as large-polyp stony corals. This means[ clarification needed ] that while they produce a hard skeleton, they do not build reefs. [1] Different species have polyps in a variety of colors, including yellow, orange, and shades of black.

Feeding

Unlike most shallow water corals, Sun corals are not photosynthetic. Tubastraea do not host zooxanthellae, the symbiotic algae that provides energy to the coral via photosynthesis. [2] Instead, they are heterotrophic, and extend long tentacles at night to catch passing zooplankton; their large polyp size allows them to take relatively large zooplankton.

Habitat

Tubastraea coccinea was first documented in 1943 on Caribbean reefs in Curaçao and Puerto Rico. [3] T. coccinea is an invasive species that was documented to have spread as far north as the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in 2004. [3]

Tubastraea is often found in deep waters because they do not require sunlight for nourishment. They often colonize on artificial surfaces - such as ship wrecks - for this reason. [4]

Reproduction and growth

Like most coral, sun coral reproduces asexually. They are hermaphrodites and produce planulae. [5] These larvae live for up to two weeks, but usually colonize within 1 meter (3.3 ft) of the parent organism. [6] They reproduce for approximately 1.5 years, growing about 3 cm2 per year. [7]

In addition, Tubastraea form runners that can extend 10.4 centimeters (4.1 in) per year, until they reach unoccupied areas, then forming polyps at the end of the runner. [8]

Reproduction occurs sexually during the summer, spring, and winter seasons. After fertilization, the female corals will carry the eggs as the offspring develop within her gastrovascular cavity and are released as larvae. After being released, the larvae disperse and eventually settle on rocky seafloors "cementing" their skeletal structure to a rock. Once cemented, the coral will grow and reside there for the rest of its life.

Captivity

Tubastraea are considered one of the easier non photosynthetic corals to keep in captivity. Their polyps will take relatively large foods such as fish flakes and frozen mysis shrimp; feeding all the polyps once every other day is sufficient for survival, though faster growth is obtained if they are fed daily. Their polyps typically open only at night, but they can be coaxed to come out during the day with food. The largest challenge of keeping these - and any other non photosynthetic - corals is maintaining water quality with all the food they require. [9]

Species

Species: [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthozoa</span> Class of cnidarians without a medusa stage

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.

<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">Elkhorn coral</span> Species of coral

Elkhorn coral is an important reef-building coral in the Caribbean. The species has a complex structure with many branches which resemble that of elk antlers; hence, the common name. The branching structure creates habitat and shelter for many other reef species. Elkhorn coral is known to grow quickly with an average growth rate of 5 to 10 cm per year. They can reproduce both sexually and asexually, though asexual reproduction is much more common and occurs through a process called fragmentation.

<i>Pavona duerdeni</i> Species of coral

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquaculture of coral</span> Cultivation of coral for commercial purposes

Coral aquaculture, also known as coral farming or coral gardening, is the cultivation of corals for commercial purposes or coral reef restoration. Aquaculture is showing promise as a tool for restoring coral reefs, which are dying off around the world. The process protects young corals while they are most at risk of dying. Small corals are propagated in nurseries and then replanted on the reef.

<i>Galaxea fascicularis</i> Species of coral

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.

<i>Millepora alcicornis</i> Species of hydrozoan

Millepora alcicornis, or sea ginger, is a species of colonial fire coral with a calcareous skeleton. It is found on shallow water coral reefs in the tropical west Atlantic Ocean. It shows a variety of different morphologies depending on its location. It feeds on plankton and derives part of its energy requirements from microalgae found within its tissues. It is an important member of the reef building community and subject to the same threats as other corals. It can cause painful stings to unwary divers.

<i>Umimayanthus parasiticus</i> Species of coral

Umimayanthus parasiticus, commonly known as the sponge zoanthid, is a species of coral in the order Zoantharia which grows symbiotically on several species of sponge. It is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Millepora platyphylla</i> Species of hydrozoan

Millepora platyphylla is a species of fire coral, a type of hydrocoral, in the family Milleporidae. It is also known by the common names blade fire coral and plate fire coral. It forms a calcium carbonate skeleton and has toxic, defensive polyps that sting. It obtains nutrients by consuming plankton and via symbiosis with photosynthetic algae. The species is found from the Red Sea and East Africa to northern Australia and French Polynesia. It plays an important role in reef-building in the Indo-Pacific region. Depending on its environment, it can have a variety of different forms and structures.

<i>Pseudodiploria strigosa</i> Species of coral

Pseudodiploria strigosa, the symmetrical brain coral, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Mussidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow water in the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It grows slowly and lives to a great age.

<i>Pseudodiploria clivosa</i> Species of coral

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.

<i>Cynarina lacrymalis</i> Species of coral

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange cup coral</span> Species of coral

Orange cup coral belongs to a group of corals known as large-polyp stony corals. This non-reef building coral extends beautiful translucent tentacles at night. Tubastraea coccinea is heterotrophic and does not contain zooxanthellae in its tissues as many tropical corals do, allowing it to grow in complete darkness as long as it can capture enough food.

<i>Catalaphyllia</i> Genus of corals

Catalaphyllia is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Euphylliidae from the western Pacific Ocean. It is represented by a single species, Catalaphyllia jardinei, commonly known as elegance coral. It was first described by William Saville-Kent in 1893 as Pectinia jardinei.

<i>Millepora complanata</i> Species of hydrozoan

Millepora complanata, commonly known as blade fire coral, is a species of fire coral in the family Milleporidae. It is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea where it is a common species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being critically endangered.

<i>Porites cylindrica</i> Species of coral

Porites cylindrica, commonly known as hump coral, is a stony coral belonging to the subclass Hexacorallia in the class Anthozoa. Hexacorallia differ from other subclasses in that they have 6 or fewer axes of symmetry. Members of this class possess colonial polyps which can be reef-building, secreting a calcium carbonate skeleton. They are dominant in both inshore reefs and midshelf reefs.

<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>Tubastraea faulkneri</i> Species of coral

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.

<i>Tubastraea micranthus</i> Species of coral

Tubastraea micranthus, commonly known as the black sun coral, is a coral from the Tubastraea genus, which comprises the sun corals. They have a dark green color and they grow and branch out in bush/tree like colonies. The habitat of T. micranthus ranges from the Red Sea to Madagascar, and into the Pacific as far as Fiji. It has been observed in waters as shallow as 4m to a depth of 138m in the new habitat. It is notable though, that in its native habitats Tubastraea micranthus has only been found at depths up to 50 meters and any discovered at lower depths are in invasive environments. Furthermore, there have been obscure sightings of Tubastraea micranthus in Korea.

References

  1. Hawaii Coral Reef Network. 2005. Family Dendrophyllidae: Cup Corals.
  2. Blomquist, C.H., Lima, P.H., Tarrant,A.M., Atkinson,M.J. and Atkinson, S. 2006. 17ß-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17ß-HSD) in scleractinian corals and zooxanthellae, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B 143: 397-403
  3. 1 2 Shearer, TL (2009). "Population Analysis of an Introduced Coral Species, Tubastraea coccinea, in Florida". In: Pollock NW, ed. Diving for Science 2009. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 28th Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL. Archived from the original on September 6, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-07.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. Fenner, D. and Banks, K. 2004. Orange Cup Coral Tubastraea coccinea invades Florida and the Flower Garden Banks, Northwestern Gulf of Mexico, Coral Reefs 23: 505-507.
  5. Ayre, D.J. and Resing, J.M. 1986. Sexual and asexual production of planulae in reef corals, Marine Biology 90: 187-190.
  6. Creed, J.C., Paula, A.F. De, 2007. Substratum preference during recruitment of two invasive alien corals onto shallow-subtidal tropical rocky shores. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 330: 101-111.
  7. Vermeij, M.J.A. 2006. Early life-history dynamics of Caribbean coral species on artificial substratum: the importance of competition, growth and variation in life-history strategy, Coral Reefs 25: 59-71.
  8. Vermeij, M.J.A. 2005. A novel growth strategy allows Tubastraea coccinea to escape small-scale adverse conditions and start over again, Coral Reefs 24: 442.
  9. "Aquarium Corals: A Look at the Sun Corals". 14 December 2011.
  10. "Tubastraea Lesson, 1830". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.