Favia fragrum is a species of colonialstony coral in the family Mussidae. It is commonly known as the golfball coral and is found in tropical waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
The golfball coral is small and usually hemispherical in shape with a number of large corallites packed closely together, but It can occur in groups or may occasionally grow as an encrusting coral. The corallites contain one to three polyps and are normally round but can become elongated into an oval shape when the polyps are budding and a new corallite is being formed. The corallite walls usually consist of four complete whorls of septa and do not project appreciably from the surface of the coral. The costae of different corallites are distinct from one another. The colour is usually yellow or pale brown.[3][4]
Distributionedit
The golfball coral is found in the tropical Atlantic Ocean at depths down to 30 metres (98 ft) with its range extending from the west coast of equatorial Africa to South America, the Caribbean Sea and the southern United States. It is an inconspicuous species and occurs on coral reefs, on rocks, in seagrass meadows and among seaweed.[3][4] The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists it as being of "least concern". This is because it is widespread and common and a loss of habitat from coral reef destruction is unlikely to impact it significantly.[1]
Ecologyedit
Where degraded reefs have abundant macroalgae, it has been shown experimentally that coral larvae will settle in as great quantities on the seaweed as it will on the rubble substrate. Researchers showed that larvae of Favia fragum settled on Halimeda opuntia, an ephemeral alga that is unsuitable for post-settlement survival, and this may have significant consequences for the recruitment of corals on degraded reefs.[5]
Referencesedit
^ abAronson, R.; Bruckner, A.; Moore, J.; Precht, B. & E. Weil (2008). "Favia fragum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T133594A3819647. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T133594A3819647.en. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
^Nugues, M.M.; Szmant, A.M. (2006). "Coral settlement onto Halimeda opuntia: a fatal attraction to an ephemeral substrate?". Coral Reefs. 25 (4): 585–591. Bibcode:2006CorRe..25..585N. doi:10.1007/s00338-006-0147-0. S2CID 30826557.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
April 12, 2024
favia, fragum, favia, fragrum, species, colonial, stony, coral, family, mussidae, commonly, known, golfball, coral, found, tropical, waters, either, side, atlantic, ocean, conservation, statusleast, concern, iucn, scientific, classificationdomain, eukaryotakin. Favia fragrum is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Mussidae It is commonly known as the golfball coral and is found in tropical waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean Favia fragumConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum CnidariaClass HexacoralliaOrder ScleractiniaFamily FaviidaeGenus FaviaSpecies F fragumBinomial nameFavia fragum Esper 1795 2 SynonymsAstraea fragum Esper 1795 Madrepora fragum Esper 1795 Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution 3 Ecology 4 ReferencesDescription editThe golfball coral is small and usually hemispherical in shape with a number of large corallites packed closely together but It can occur in groups or may occasionally grow as an encrusting coral The corallites contain one to three polyps and are normally round but can become elongated into an oval shape when the polyps are budding and a new corallite is being formed The corallite walls usually consist of four complete whorls of septa and do not project appreciably from the surface of the coral The costae of different corallites are distinct from one another The colour is usually yellow or pale brown 3 4 Distribution editThe golfball coral is found in the tropical Atlantic Ocean at depths down to 30 metres 98 ft with its range extending from the west coast of equatorial Africa to South America the Caribbean Sea and the southern United States It is an inconspicuous species and occurs on coral reefs on rocks in seagrass meadows and among seaweed 3 4 The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists it as being of least concern This is because it is widespread and common and a loss of habitat from coral reef destruction is unlikely to impact it significantly 1 Ecology editWhere degraded reefs have abundant macroalgae it has been shown experimentally that coral larvae will settle in as great quantities on the seaweed as it will on the rubble substrate Researchers showed that larvae of Favia fragum settled on Halimeda opuntia an ephemeral alga that is unsuitable for post settlement survival and this may have significant consequences for the recruitment of corals on degraded reefs 5 References edit a b Aronson R Bruckner A Moore J Precht B amp E Weil 2008 Favia fragum IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008 e T133594A3819647 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2008 RLTS T133594A3819647 en Retrieved 1 November 2021 van der Land Jacob 2008 Favia fragum Esper 1795 WoRMS World Register of Marine Species Retrieved 2018 08 13 a b Favia fragum Esper 1797 CoralPedia Retrieved 2012 02 20 a b Golfball coral Favia fragum Marine Species Identification Portal Retrieved 2012 02 20 Nugues M M Szmant A M 2006 Coral settlement onto Halimeda opuntia a fatal attraction to an ephemeral substrate Coral Reefs 25 4 585 591 Bibcode 2006CorRe 25 585N doi 10 1007 s00338 006 0147 0 S2CID 30826557 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Favia fragum amp oldid 1141976985, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
