Alveopora viridis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alveopora viridis |
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Alveopora viridis is a type of stony coral. It lives in many different places around the world. You can find it in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and parts of the Indian Ocean. It also lives near Palau and the Mariana Islands. This coral likes to live on the lower parts of coral reefs. It can be found as deep as 50 meters (about 164 feet). Alveopora viridis is very sensitive to coral bleaching. This happens when corals get stressed and turn white. People also collect this coral for home aquariums.
What Does Alveopora viridis Look Like?
Colonies of Alveopora viridis can be lumpy or shaped like columns. The tiny cups where the coral animals live, called corallites, are very small. Inside these cups, there are spiny walls called septa. These spines come in two different lengths. The coral colonies are usually a shade of grayish-brown or greenish-brown.
How Does Alveopora viridis Live?
Alveopora viridis is a zooxanthellate coral. This means it has tiny plant-like friends living inside its soft body. These friends are a type of dinoflagellate. They have a special relationship with the coral, called symbiosis.
These tiny organisms make their own food using sunlight. This process is called photosynthesis. They share this food with the coral. In fact, they can provide up to 90% of the energy the coral needs to live and grow! The coral gets its remaining food by catching tiny sea creatures. It uses its tentacles to grab plankton from the water.
Why Is Alveopora viridis Important?
This coral is very sensitive to coral bleaching. Coral bleaching happens when the water gets too warm. The coral gets stressed and loses its colorful algae friends. This makes the coral turn white and can eventually kill it. People also collect Alveopora viridis for the reef aquarium trade.
All corals, including Alveopora viridis, are protected. They are listed on CITES Appendix II. This is an international agreement. It helps control the trade of animals and plants. This stops them from becoming endangered.
The biggest dangers to corals are linked to climate change. This includes the destruction of their coral reef homes. Stronger storms also cause more damage. Rising sea water temperatures are a major threat. Another problem is ocean acidification. This means the ocean water is becoming more acidic. This makes it harder for corals to build their hard skeletons.
Alveopora viridis lives in many different places. However, it is generally not very common. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has looked at its situation. They have decided its conservation status is "near-threatened". This means it might become endangered in the future if we don't protect it.
