Staghorn coral
Overview
The Staghorn coral is a branching coral
with cylindrical branches ranging from a few centimetres to over two metres in length and height. It occurs in back reef
and fore reef environments from 0 to 30 m depth. The upper limit is defined by wave forces, and the lower limit is controlled by suspended sediments and light availability. Fore reef
zones at intermediate depths (5-25 m) were formerly dominated by extensive single species stands of staghorn coral until the mid 1980s.
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
with cylindrical branches ranging from a few centimetres to over two metres in length and height. It occurs in back reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
and fore reef environments from 0 to 30 m depth. The upper limit is defined by wave forces, and the lower limit is controlled by suspended sediments and light availability. Fore reef
Fringing reef
A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reefs recognized by most coral reef scientists. It is distinguished from the other two main types in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone or none at all...
zones at intermediate depths (5-25 m) were formerly dominated by extensive single species stands of staghorn coral until the mid 1980s.
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