Alveopora verrilliana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alveopora verrilliana |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Alveopora
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| Species: |
verrilliana
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Alveopora verrilliana 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 Gulf of Aden, and the northern Indian Ocean. It also lives near Australia, Southeast Asia, and Japan. This coral grows on shallow coral reefs. It can be found down to about 30 meters (100 feet) deep. This coral is very sensitive to coral bleaching. People also collect it for home aquariums.
What Does Alveopora verrilliana Look Like?
Colonies of Alveopora verrilliana are groups of many coral animals. They grow in bumpy, uneven shapes. Each tiny coral animal lives in a cup-like home called a corallite. These homes are small, about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) wide. Inside, there are small walls called septa with short, blunt spines. The outside wall of the corallite also has many tiny spines. These corals are usually greenish-brown, dark brown, or grey. Sometimes, their mouths or tentacle tips are a lighter color.
How Does This Coral Live?
Alveopora verrilliana is a zooxanthellate coral. This means it has tiny plant-like friends living inside it. These friends are called dinoflagellates. They have a special symbiotic relationship with the coral. The dinoflagellates use photosynthesis to make food from sunlight. They share this food with the coral. This can provide up to 90% of the coral's energy! The coral also uses its tiny tentacles to catch small plankton from the water. This helps it get the rest of the food it needs to grow.
Why is This Coral Important?
This coral lives in many places, but it is not very common. It is very sensitive to coral bleaching. This happens when corals get stressed and lose their colorful algae friends. Alveopora verrilliana is also popular in the reef aquarium trade. This means people collect it to keep in their home fish tanks.
All corals are protected by a special agreement called CITES Appendix II. This helps control how they are traded around the world. The biggest dangers to corals come from climate change. These include:
- Damage to their coral reef homes
- More extreme weather events like strong storms
- Warmer ocean water temperatures
- Ocean acidification, which makes ocean water more acidic
Because of these threats, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says this coral is a "vulnerable" species. This means it is at risk of becoming endangered.
