Acropora millepora Ehrenberg, 1834 (AM MA143258-5)

''Acropora millepora'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of branching stony

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

native to the western Indo-Pacific where it is found in shallow water from the east coast of Africa to the coasts of Japan and Australia. It was first described in 1834 by

Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (19 April 1795 – 27 June 1876) was a German naturalist, zoologist, comparative anatomist, geologist, and microscopist. Ehrenberg was an evangelist and was considered to be of the most famous and productive scie ...

as ''Heteropora millepora''.

Description

''Acropora millepora'' is a small

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

coral that grows in clumps. The short branches are cylindrical. The radial

corallite A corallite is the skeletal cup, formed by an individual stony coral polyp, in which the polyp sits and into which it can retract. The cup is composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, and is secreted by the polyp. Corallit ...

s are all the same size and have projecting lower rims, giving them a scale-like appearance. The colour is variable and may be green with orange tipped branches, or pale pink, orange, plain green or blue.

Distribution and habitat

''Acropora millepora'' is a common species and is found in the western and central Indo-Pacific. Its range extends from the Red Sea, Kenya and South Africa to India, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Australia. This coral grows in shallow water, between two and twelve metres (six and forty feet) deep, mostly on reef flats, but also on upper reef slopes and in lagoons.

Ecology

''Acropora millepora'' is a

zooxanthella Zooxanthellae is a colloquial term for single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including demosponges, corals, jellyfish, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthellae are in the genus ''Symbi ...

te species of coral and harbours

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

dinoflagellate The dinoflagellates (Greek δῖνος ''dinos'' "whirling" and Latin ''flagellum'' "whip, scourge") are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered algae. Dinoflagellates are ...

s in its tissues. The larvae of ''Acropora millepora'' preferentially settle on vertical surfaces and on encrusting

coralline alga 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 re ...

e. It has been found that at lower temperatures () the larvae were less specific as to their choice of settlement sites and that their survival rates were lower. Surprisingly, the choice of substrate for settlement was modified by the strain of symbiont present in the locality even though it had not yet infected the tissues.

Status

The main threat affecting ''Acropora millepora'' is the destruction of the coral reefs where it lives. Although relatively common it is a shallow water species and susceptible to

bleaching Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

and coral diseases. It is also collected for the

reef aquarium A reef aquarium or reef tank is a marine aquarium that prominently displays live corals and other marine invertebrates as well as fish that play a role in maintaining the tropical coral reef environment. A reef aquarium requires appropriately ...

trade. Corals in general are expected to be impacted by rising sea temperatures and

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxid ...

. For these reasons, the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has listed ''Acropora millepora'' as being "

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3945068 Acropora Corals described in 1834 Near threatened animals Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg