Acropora millepora facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acropora millepora |
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Acropora millepora is a type of coral that grows in branches. It is a "stony" coral, meaning it builds a hard skeleton. You can find it in shallow waters across the western Indo-Pacific region. This area stretches from the east coast of Africa all the way to Japan and Australia. A scientist named Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg first described this coral in 1834.
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What Does Acropora millepora Look Like?
Acropora millepora is a small coral that grows in groups or "clumps." Its branches are short and round, like cylinders. The tiny cup-like structures where the coral polyps live are called corallites. These corallites are all about the same size. They have edges that stick out, making them look a bit like scales. This coral comes in many different colors. It can be green with orange tips, pale pink, bright orange, plain green, or even blue!
Where Does This Coral Live?
Acropora millepora is a common coral species. It lives across the western and central Indo-Pacific ocean. Its home range includes the Red Sea, Kenya, and South Africa. It also extends to India, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia. This coral prefers shallow water, usually between 2 and 12 meters (6 to 40 feet) deep. You'll often find it on flat parts of coral reefs. It also lives on the upper slopes of reefs and inside calm lagoons.
How Does Acropora millepora Live?
Acropora millepora is a special type of coral because it has tiny algae living inside its tissues. These algae are called zooxanthellae. The coral and the algae have a symbiotic relationship. This means they help each other survive. The algae use sunlight to make food, and they share some of that food with the coral.
When new Acropora millepora corals start to grow, they begin as tiny larvae. These larvae like to settle and attach themselves to certain places. They prefer vertical surfaces, like the side of a rock. They also like to settle on a type of red algae called coralline algae. Scientists have found that if the water is cooler (around 22.5°C or 72.5°F), the larvae are less picky about where they settle. However, fewer of them survive in cooler water. It's interesting that the type of algae living nearby can influence where the baby corals decide to settle, even before those algae move into the coral's body!
Why Is Acropora millepora "Near Threatened"?
The biggest danger to Acropora millepora is the damage to the coral reefs where it lives. Even though it's a common species, it lives in shallow water. This makes it more sensitive to problems like coral bleaching and coral diseases. Coral bleaching happens when corals get stressed, often from warm water. They lose their colorful algae and can die.
People also collect Acropora millepora for reef aquariums. This can reduce its numbers in the wild. All corals are expected to face challenges from a warming ocean and ocean acidification. Ocean acidification means the ocean is becoming more acidic. Because of these threats, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed Acropora millepora as "Near Threatened." This means it could become endangered in the future if these problems continue.
