Seriatopora hystrix
| Seriatopora hystrix | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Seriatopora hystrix | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Pocilloporidae |
| Genus: | Seriatopora |
| Species: | S. hystrix |
| Binomial name | |
| Seriatopora hystrix Dana, 1846 [1] | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Seriatopora hystrix is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It forms a bushy clump and is commonly known as thin birdsnest coral. It grows in shallow water on fore-reef slopes or in sheltered lagoons, the type locality being the Red Sea. It is native to East Africa, the Red Sea and the western Indo-Pacific region.
Description
Colonies of Seriatopora hystrix formed a tangled, bushy clump of fragile, slender, tapering branches with pointed tips. These clumps can grow to a metre (yard) across. In shallow positions with strong water movement the branches are thicker than they are in deeper or turbid habitats in sheltered positions. The corallites form neat rows of oval cup-shaped depressions with raised rims from which the polyps protrude at night. This coral can be cream, pink, yellow, brown or blue.[2]
Ecology
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Seriatopora hystrix is susceptible to coral bleaching. At times of stress, it has shown a novel form of asexual reproduction that may allow some of the polyps to survive even though the parent colony dies. This has been termed "polyp bail-out" and involves growth of the coenosarc (the living tissue covering the skeleton) to isolate the polyp, detachment of the polyp and settlement of the polyp on the seabed followed by its attachment and the growth of a new skeleton. In the laboratory, about 5% of these polyps survived to found a new colony.[3]
The tangled bushy form of this coral provides a suitable habitat for other animals. A number of symbiotic decapod crustaceans find shelter and protection here and they also obtain food in the form of mucus secreted by the coral. Two species of alpheid shrimps and three species of xanthid crabs are thought to be obligate symbionts and not found living anywhere else. The coral benefits from their presence as they attack coral-eating creatures. Any one coral colony is likely to house a single species of symbiotic crustacean, including adults and juveniles, but a large colony may house two.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hoeksema, B. (2015). "Seriatopora hystrix Dana, 1846". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
- ↑ "Thin birdsnest coral (Seriatopora hystrix)". Wildscreen Arkive. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
- ↑ Sammarco, Paul W. (1982). "Polyp bail-out : an escape response to environmental stress and new means of reproduction in corals" (PDF). Marine Ecology Progress Series 10: 57–65.
- ↑ J. Carel von Vaupel Klein (2000). The Biodiversity Crisis and Crustacea - Proceedings of the Fourth International Crustacean Congress. CRC Press. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-90-5410-478-0.