''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

in the phylum

Cnidaria Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...

. Some of its

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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.

Anatomy and distribution

Depending on the species and location, ''Acropora'' species may grow as plates or slender or broad branches. Like other corals, ''Acropora'' corals are colonies of individual polyps, which are about 2 mm across and share tissue and a

nerve net ''Nerve Net'' is the eleventh solo studio album by Brian Eno, released on 1 September 1992 on Opal and Warner Bros. Records. It marked a return to more rock-oriented material, mixed with heavily syncopated rhythms, experimental electronic com ...

. The polyps can withdraw back into the coral in response to movement or disturbance by potential predators, but when undisturbed, they protrude slightly. The polyps typically extend further at night to help capture plankton and organic matter from the water. The species are distributed in the Indo-Pacific (over 100 species) and Caribbean (3 species). However, the true number of species is unknown: firstly, the validity of many of these species is questioned as some have been shown to represent hybrids, for example ''Acropora prolifera''; and secondly, some species have been shown to represent cryptic species complexes.

Threats

'' Symbiodinium'',

symbiotic Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

, live in the corals' cells and produce energy for the animals through

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

. Environmental destruction has led to a dwindling of populations of ''Acropora'', along with other coral species. ''Acropora'' is especially susceptible to

bleaching Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

when stressed. Bleaching is due to the loss of the coral's zooxanthellae, which are a golden-brown color. Bleached corals are stark white and may die if new ''Symbiodinium'' cells cannot be assimilated. Common causes of bleaching and coral death include pollution, abnormally warm water temperatures, increased

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ...

, sedimentation, and eutrophication. In 2014 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed ten ''Acropora'' species as 'threatened'.

Reef-keeping

Most ''Acropora'' species are brown or green, but a few are brightly colored, and those rare corals are prized by aquarists. Captive propagation of ''Acropora'' is widespread in the reef-keeping community. Given the right conditions, many ''Acropora'' species grow quickly, and individual colonies can exceed a meter across in the wild. In a well-maintained reef aquarium, finger-sized fragments can grow into medicine ball-sized colonies in one to two years. Captive specimens are steadily undergoing changes due to selection which enable them to thrive in the home aquarium. In some cases, fragments of captive specimens are used to repopulate barren reefs in the wild. ''Acropora'' species are challenging to keep in a home aquarium. They require bright light, stable temperatures, regular addition of calcium and alkalinity supplements, and clean, turbulent water. Common parasites of colonies in

reef aquarium A reef aquarium or reef tank is a marine aquarium that prominently displays live corals and other marine invertebrates as well as fish that play a role in maintaining the tropical coral reef environment. A reef aquarium requires appropriately i ...

s are "Acropora-eating flatworms" ''Amakusaplana acroporae'', and "red bugs" ('' Tegastes acroporanus'').

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Acropora: *'' Acropora abrolhosensis'' Veron, 1985 *'' Acropora abrotanoides'' (Lamarck, 1816) *'' Acropora acervata'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora aculeus'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora acuminata'' (Verrill, 1864) *'' Acropora alvarezi''† Wallace, 2008 *'' Acropora anglica''† (Duncan, 1866) *'' Acropora anthocercis'' (Brook, 1893) *'' Acropora arabensis'' Hodgson and Carpenter, 1995 *'' Acropora arafura'' Wallace, Done & Muir, 2012 *'' Acropora aspera'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora austera'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora awi'' Wallace and Wolstenholme, 1998 *'' Acropora bartonensis''† Wallace, 2008 *'' Acropora batunai'' Wallace, 1997 *'' Acropora borneoensis''† (Felix, 1921) *'' Acropora branchi'' Riegl, 1995 *'' Acropora britannica''† Wallace, 2008 *'' Acropora bushyensis'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Acropora capillaris'' (Klunzinger, 1879) *'' Acropora cardenae'' Wells, 1986 *'' Acropora carduus'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora caroliniana'' Nemenzo, 1976 *'' Acropora cerealis'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora cervicornis'' (Lamarck, 1816) - staghorn coral *'' Acropora chesterfieldensis'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Acropora clathrata'' (Brook, 1891) *'' Acropora cytherea'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora darrellae''† Santodomingo, Wallace & Johnson, 2015 *'' Acropora deformis''† (Michelin, 1840) *'' Acropora dendrum'' (Bassett-Smith, 1890) *'' Acropora derawaensis'' Wallace, 1997 *'' Acropora desalwii'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora digitifera'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora divaricata'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora donei'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Acropora downingi'' Wallace, 1999 *'' Acropora duncani''† (Reuss, 1866) *'' Acropora echinata'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora elegans'' (Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1860) *'' Acropora elenae''† Santodomingo, Wallace & Johnson, 2015 *'' Acropora elseyi'' (Brook, 1892) *'' Acropora emanuelae''† Santodomingo, Wallace & Johnson, 2015 *'' Acropora eurystoma'' (Klunzinger, 1879) *'' Acropora fastigata'' Nemenzo, 1967 *'' Acropora fennemai''† (Gerth, 1921) *'' Acropora fenneri'' Veron, 2000 *'' Acropora filiformis'' Veron, 2000 *'' Acropora florida'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora gemmifera'' (Brook, 1892) *'' Acropora glauca'' (Brook, 1893) *'' Acropora globiceps'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora gomezi'' Veron, 2000 *'' Acropora grandis'' (Brook, 1892) *'' Acropora granulosa'' (Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1860) *'' Acropora haidingeri''† (Reuss, 1864) *'' Acropora halmaherae'' Wallace and Wolstenholme, 1998 *'' Acropora hasibuani''† Santodomingo, Wallace & Johnson, 2015 *'' Acropora hemprichii'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Acropora herklotsi''† (Reuss, 1866) *'' Acropora hoeksemai'' Wallace, 1997 *'' Acropora horrida'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora humilis'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora hyacinthus'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora indonesia'' Wallace, 1997 *'' Acropora intermedia'' (Brook, 1891) *'' Acropora jacquelineae'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora japonica'' Veron, 2000 *'' Acropora kimbeensis'' Wallace, 1999 *'' Acropora kirstyae'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Acropora kosurini'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora lamarcki'' Veron, 2000 *'' Acropora latistella'' (Brook, 1892) *'' Acropora laurae''† Santodomingo, Wallace & Johnson, 2015 *'' Acropora lavandulina''† (Michelin, 1840) *'' Acropora listeri'' (Brook, 1893) *'' Acropora loisetteae'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora lokani'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora longicyathus'' (Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1860) *'' Acropora loripes'' (Brook, 1892) *'' Acropora lovelli'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Acropora lutkeni'' Crossland, 1952 *'' Acropora macrocalyx''† Wallace & Bosselini, 2015 *'' Acropora microclados'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Acropora microphthalma'' (Verrill, 1869) *'' Acropora millepora'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Acropora monticulosa'' (Brueggemann, 1879) *'' Acropora mossambica'' Riegl, 1995 *'' Acropora multiacuta'' Nemenzo, 1967 *'' Acropora muricata'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *'' Acropora nana'' (Studer, 1878) *'' Acropora nasuta'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora natalensis'' Riegl, 1995 *'' Acropora ornata''† (DeFrance, 1828) *'' Acropora palmata'' (Lamarck, 1816) - elkhorn coral *'' Acropora palmerae'' Wells, 1954 *'' Acropora paniculata'' Verrill, 1902 *'' Acropora papillare'' Latypov, 1992 *'' Acropora pectinata'' Veron, 2000 *'' Acropora pharaonis'' (Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1860) *'' Acropora pichoni'' Wallace, 1999 *'' Acropora piedmontensis''† Wallace & Bosselini, 2015 *'' Acropora plumosa'' Wallace and Wolstenholme, 1998 *'' Acropora polystoma'' (Brook, 1891) *'' Acropora prolifera'' (Lamarck, 1816) - fused staghorn coral *'' Acropora proteacea''† Wallace, 2008 *'' Acropora proximalis'' Veron, 2000 *'' Acropora pulchra'' (Brook, 1891) *'' Acropora renemai''† Santodomingo, Wallace & Johnson, 2015 *'' Acropora retusa'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora ridzwani'' Ditlev, 2003 *'' Acropora robusta'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora roemeri''† (Duncan, 1866) *'' Acropora rongelapensis'' Richards & Wallace, 2004 *'' Acropora roseni'' Wallace, 1999 *'' Acropora rudis'' (Rehberg, 1892) *'' Acropora rufa'' Veron, 2000 *'' Acropora russelli'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora salentina''† Wallace & Bosselini, 2015 *'' Acropora samoensis'' (Brook, 1891) *'' Acropora sarmentosa'' (Brook, 1892) *'' Acropora secale'' (Studer, 1878) *'' Acropora selago'' (Studer, 1878) *'' Acropora seriata'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Acropora serrata'' Lamarck *'' Acropora simplex'' Wallace and Wolstenholme, 1998 *'' Acropora sirikitiae'' Wallace, Phongsuwan & Muir, 2012 *'' Acropora slovenica''† Wallace & Bosselini, 2015 *'' Acropora solanderi''† (Defrance, 1828) *'' Acropora solitaryensis'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Acropora sordiensis'' Riegl, 1995 *'' Acropora spathulata'' (Brook, 1891) *''

Acropora speciosa ''Acropora speciosa'' is a species of acroporid coral found in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the southwest and northern Indian Ocean, the central Indo-Pacific, Southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea, eastern Australia and the oceanic west an ...

'' (Quelch, 1886) *'' Acropora spicifera'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora squarrosa'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Acropora striata'' (Verrill, 1866) *'' Acropora subglabra'' (Brook, 1891) *'' Acropora subulata'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora suharsonoi'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora sukarnoi'' Wallace, 1997 *'' Acropora tanegashimensi'' -s Veron, 1990 *'' Acropora tenella'' (Brook, 1892) *'' Acropora tenuis'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora torihalimeda'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora tortuosa'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora tuberculosa'' (Milne Edwards, 1860) *'' Acropora turaki'' Wallace, 1994 *'' Acropora valenciennesi'' (Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1860) *'' Acropora valida'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Acropora variolosa'' (Klunzinger, 1879) *'' Acropora vaughani'' Wells, 1954 *'' Acropora verweyi'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Acropora walindii'' Wallace, 1999 *'' Acropora willisae'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Acropora wilsonae''† Wallace, 2008 *'' Acropora yongei'' Veron and Wallace, 1984

References

External links