Scleractinians

Scleractinian/Stony Corals

Introduction

• Classification
  • Kingdom:Animalia
  • Phylum: Cnidaria
  • Class:Anthozoa
• Stony Corals are also called Hard Corals, they are the 'reef builders' of the coral ecosystem

Evolutionary History

first appeared in the mid-triassic period

Characteristics

• Skeleton
• Colony Formation

Reproduction

• Sexual: allows for spread of coral to new places
• Asexual: allows for growth of corals
  • Budding
  • Splitting

Environment

• Stony Corals do well in tropical and subtropical areas which have warm and clear water
• Stony Corals have also been found in deep, dark water that is up to 6,500 feet deep

Class Photos from the US/British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean

• Brain
• Branching
• Encrusting, Mound, and Boulder
• Fleshy
• Flowering and Cup
• Leaf, Plate, and Sheet

Notes

1. MarineBio Conservation Society. (n.d.). Coral Reefs. Web. http://marinebio.org/oceans/coral-reefs.asp
2. Stanley, G. D. (1996). Paleobiology and biology of corals. Columbus, OH: Paleontological Society.
3. Dubinsky, Z., & Stambler, N. (Eds.). (2011). Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition. London: Springer.
4. National Ocean Service. (March 25,2008). Corals: How Do Corals Grow? What Forms Do They Take?. Web. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral03_growth.html
5. Sheppard, C. R., Davy, S. K., & Pilling, G. M. (2009). The Main Reef Builders and Space Occupiers. The Biology of Coral Reefs. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198566359.001.0001