Alveopora spongiosa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alveopora spongiosa |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Alveopora spongiosa is a type of stony coral. It lives in warm ocean waters around the world. You can find it in places like the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and near Australia. This coral usually grows on coral reef slopes that are protected. It is often found about 9 to 20 meters deep, but it can live as deep as 50 meters. Alveopora spongiosa can be affected by coral bleaching. People also collect it for home aquariums.
What Does Alveopora spongiosa Look Like?
A group of these corals, called a colony, can look very different. They might form flat plates or soft cushions. Some grow in columns, while others spread out over rocks. A colony can even grow up to 2 meters wide!
The coral has tiny cups called corallites. Inside these cups, there are walls with thin, pointy parts called septa. These points are different lengths and do not connect. The coral's soft parts, called polyps, have two circles of tentacles. Six tentacles are long and have small knobs, and six are shorter. These corals are usually brown. Sometimes, their tentacles have white tips.
How Does This Coral Live and Eat?
Alveopora spongiosa is a zooxanthellate coral. This means it has tiny living things called dinoflagellates inside its soft body. These dinoflagellates are like tiny plants. They use sunlight to make food, just like plants do. This food is then shared with the coral. This special partnership is called symbiosis. The dinoflagellates can give the coral up to 90% of the energy it needs to live and grow!
The coral also eats other things. It uses its tentacles to catch tiny living things called plankton from the water. This helps it get the rest of the food it needs.
Is Alveopora spongiosa in Danger?
This coral can be affected by coral bleaching. This happens when corals get stressed, often from warm water, and lose their colorful dinoflagellates. However, Alveopora spongiosa is less likely to bleach than other corals that live in shallower water.
Because it is a pretty coral, people collect it for reef aquariums. All corals are protected by an agreement called CITES Appendix II. This means their trade is controlled to make sure they are not over-collected.
The biggest dangers to corals are linked to climate change. These include:
- Damage to their homes on coral reefs.
- More strong storms.
- Rising ocean temperatures.
- Ocean acidification, which makes the ocean water more acidic.
Alveopora spongiosa is found in many places and is common in some areas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has looked at this coral. They say it is "near-threatened". This means it could become endangered in the future if threats continue.
