''Astreopora listeri'' 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 ...

hard coral Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyp (zoology), polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral di ...

found in shallow water in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is an uncommon species with a wide range and is tolerant of turbid water, making it more resilient than some other corals to habitat disturbance. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Description

''Astreopora listeri'' may form hemispherical mounds or flattened and partially encrusting

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

. The

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 crowded and not arranged in any particular pattern. They are immersed and have small circular openings surrounded by delicate feathery spinules, giving the colony a rough surface. This coral resembles ''

Astreopora myriophthalma ''Astreopora myriophthalma'', sometimes known as porous star coral, is a species of hard coral found in shallow water in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation ...

'' and ''

Astreopora randalli ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' in appearance and is usually cream, pale brown or grey.

Distribution and habitat

''Astreopora listeri'' is widely distributed in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from Madagascar and East Africa to Indonesia and eastern Australia. It is found in several different types of shallow water reef habitat including turbid areas, at depths between .

Ecology

''Astreopora listeri'' is a

zooxanthellate 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 ''Sy ...

species of coral, harbouring symbiotic

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 which provide their host with the products of

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

. This coral is sometimes

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

to the bio-eroding

demosponge Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). They are sponges with a soft body that covers a har ...

Cliona orientalis ''Cliona orientalis'' is a species of demosponge in the family Clionaidae. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific region and is a bioeroding species, with various specialisations for living on and inside calcareous substrates such as massive corals and ...

'' which attacks various calcareous substrates including corals and weakens their structure.

Status

The greatest threats faced by corals are loss of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

and global

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. The specific threats faced by this

are unknown, but the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

is 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. However, this is a widespread species, with a presumed large total population which is tolerant of

turbid Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can ...

conditions, and the

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3942643 Acroporidae Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Fauna of the Red Sea Marine fauna of Oceania Corals described in 1896