Leafplate coral

Biology

This coral forms flat, plating colonies. The individual polyps appear as small "bumps" on the surface of that laminar skeleton, emerging at night to feed on plankton. They are usually transparent with slight patches of colour due to zooxanthellae, symbiotic algae living in the coral tissue.

Conservation

Coral reefs around the world are in danger. The major threat to corals is global climate change, high temperatures and ocean acidification. Localized threats to corals include fisheries, invasive species, dynamite fishing, chemical fishing, pollution, sedimentation, and human recreation and tourism activities. Corals in this genus have a low resistance to diseases, and are vulnerable to predation by the crown-of-thorns starfish.