''Acanthastrea rotundoflora'' is a species of coral found in

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

waters from the Red Sea to Australia and the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

. The species in uncommon throughout its range, and is threatened by the global loss of coral reef habitats.

Description

Colonies of ''Acanthastrea rotundoflora'' are either massive or encrusting. The

corallite A corallite is the skeletal cup, formed by an individual stony coral polyp, in which the polyp sits and into which it can retract. The cup is composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, and is secreted by the polyp. Corallit ...

s are plocoid and rather widely separated, and in small colonies there is a conspicuous central corallite. The septa have long pointed teeth. The general colour of this coral is rusty-brown, dark brown or green.

Biology

''Acanthastrea rotundoflora'' is a zooxanthellate species of coral. It obtains most of its nutritional needs from the

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

dinoflagellate The dinoflagellates (Greek δῖνος ''dinos'' "whirling" and Latin ''flagellum'' "whip, scourge") are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered algae. Dinoflagellates are ...

s that live inside its soft tissues. These

photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...

organisms provide the coral with organic carbon and nitrogen, sometimes providing up to 90% of their host's energy needs for metabolism and growth. Its remaining needs are met by the planktonic organisms caught by the tentacles of the polyps.

Status

This coral has a wide range and is moderately common. It is less susceptible to coral bleaching than some related species because it occurs in deeper water. The population trend for this species is unclear, but the main threats faced by corals in general are related to climate change and the mechanical destruction of their coral reef habitats; increasing damage from extreme weather events, rising sea water temperatures and ocean acidification. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the conservation status of this species as being a "

near-threatened species A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

". All corals receive protection by being listed on CITES Appendix II.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16481212 Lobophylliidae Animals described in 1975 Near threatened animals