''Acropora awi'' is a species of acroporid

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class 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 sec ...

that was described by

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

and Wolstenholme in 1998. Found in

fringing reef A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reef. It is distinguished from the other main types, barrier reefs and atolls, in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone (lagoon) or none at all. If a fringing reef grows direc ...

s, the slopes of shallow reefs, and sandy slopes, it occurs in a marine environment. The species is rated as vulnerable on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

, with a decreasing population, and is easily damaged. It can be found over a large area but is not abundant.

Description

''Acropora awi'' is found in colonies with a structure resembling bottlebrush shrubs, leading to many branches occurring in dense areas, but are mostly obvious and long. The species can be grey-brown or pink-brown in colour, and the branches are tightly packed. The axial corallites (on top of the branches) are long and fuse with some radial corallites (on the side of branches). However, there are some smaller radial corallites, which are described as being "pocket-shaped" with diameters of below 1mm. The species is similar to ''

Acropora echinata ''Acropora echinata'' is a species of acroporid coral that was first described by Dana in 1846. Found in shallow, tropical, sheltered reefs in marine environments, it is found at depths of in clear water. The species is listed as vulnerable on ...

'' and '' Acropora navini'', and is found in

s, the slopes of shallow reefs, and sandy slopes. It grows to a size of .

Distribution

''Acropora awi'' is found over a large range; the

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 ...

, Japan, Pohnpei, 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 ...

, Micronesia, and Southeast Asia, and the Solomon Islands. The species is present in two-thirds of the regions of Indonesia, and was also found in the Marshall Islands, but there is no known population for it. It lives in marine habitats in reefs. The species is easily damaged and has a poor resistance to disease and pathogens. It is classed as a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

on the

as the population is decreasing, and is listed under Appendix II of CITES. The species is threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing bleaching, disease, and being prey to the ''

Acanthaster planci The crown-of-thorns starfish (frequently abbreviated to COTS), ''Acanthaster planci'', is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines ...

'', as well as its vulnerability to damage. Some of the species is within Marine Protected Areas.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Wallace and Wolstenholme in 1998 as ''Acropora awi''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3938594 Acropora Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Marine fauna of Asia Marine fauna of Oceania Marine fauna of Southeast Asia Vulnerable fauna of Asia Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Animals described in 1998