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Coralline algae. Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of red, but some species can be purple, yellow, blue, white, or gray-green.
Stressed corals will eject their zooxanthellae, a process that is becoming increasingly common due to strain placed on coral by rising ocean temperatures. Mass ejections are known as coral bleaching because the algae contribute to coral coloration; some colors, however, are due to host coral pigments, such as green fluorescent proteins (GFPs ...
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. [1] Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and ...
Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to loss of symbiotic algae and photosynthetic pigments. This loss of pigment can be caused by various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. [ 1 ][ 2 ] Bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae (dinoflagellates that are commonly referred to as ...
Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) Algae (UK: / ˈælɡiː / AL-ghee, US: / ˈældʒiː / AL-jee; [ 3 ]sg.: alga / ˈælɡə / AL-gə) are any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms. The name is an informal term for a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades.
Cnidaria (/ nɪˈdɛəriə, naɪ -/ nih-DAIR-ee-ə, NY-) [ 4 ] is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species [ 5 ] of aquatic animals found both in fresh water and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroids, sea anemones, corals and some of the smallest marine parasites.
Turbinaria ornata is a tropical brown algae of the order Fucales native to coral reef ecosystems of the South Pacific. Turbinaria ornata is more commonly referred to as crowded sea bells in the US and crowned sea bells worldwide. It can quickly colonize these ecosystems due in part to its method of dispersing by detaching older and more buoyant ...
A corallivore is an animal that feeds on coral. Corallivores are an important group of reef organism because they can influence coral abundance, distribution, and community structure. Corallivores feed on coral using a variety of unique adaptations and strategies. Known corallivores include certain mollusks, annelids, fish, crustaceans ...