Deepwater
From coraldigest
Deepwater Coral
Not all coral species live in tropical, shallow waters. There are many species of deepwater coral that rely solely on their extended polyps for food. Little is known about these species, and new species of deepwater coral are discovered on a regular basis.
Deepwater corals are comparable to trees
Habitat
- Deepwater corals grow in all the world’s ocean basins, including the waters of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ecuador, Japan, Norway, and the United States.[1]They can be found in waters as deep as 6,000m and as cold as -1ºC. [2] However, temperature is an influencing factor of coral distribution, and they are most commonly found in waters ranging from 4 to 12 C. [3] Other factors influencing coral distribution include salinity and competitive interactions with other organisms like sponges and algae. Cite error: Closing
</ref>missing for<ref>tag For this reason, corals are often found specifically on seamounts due to the strong currents.
Diet
Life Cycle
Importance
Threats
Species
Black Coral
Lophelia pertusa
References
- ↑ "Deep-sea Corals." Smithsonian Ocean Portal. Smithsonian Insitution. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. http://ocean.si.edu/deep-sea-corals
- ↑ "Deep-sea Corals." Smithsonian Ocean Portal. Smithsonian Insitution. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. http://ocean.si.edu/deep-sea-corals
- ↑ Maier, C., J. Hegeman, M. G. Weinbauer, and J. P. Gattuso. "Calcification of the Cold-water Coral Lophelia Pertusa under Ambient and Reduced PH." Biogeosciences (2009): 1671-680. Print.