The Staghorn Coral

The staghorn coral is a branching of the coral reef. What is a coral reef?. A coral reef is a structure found underwater, which is made from the secreted of corals by the name of Calcium carbonate. A coral reef is a colony for living animals found in marine waters, which contained several nutrients.

The staghorn coral also known as acropora cervicornis is a type of coral formed by cylindrical branches. Its cylindrical branches are known to range from a few centimeters to over three meters in height and length. This usually occurs in fore and back reef environments, which are up to thirty meters of depth.

The staghorn coral exhibits the quickest growth of all fringrcorals from the western Atlantic. This coral is one of the most important corals found in the Caribbean for its contribution with fishery habitat and reef growth. This acropora cervicornis coral is found in the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, Grand Barrier Reef and the Caribbean islands.

Coral reef plants and marine fish are found in abundance in the habitat of this species. There are three main types of coral reef plants which are the following: 1- Seagrasses, 2- Mangroves and 3- Marine Algae. This type of coral dominant mode of reproduction is asexual. This coral is known for its rapid population recovery from physical difficulties such as hurricanes. It also recovers from bleaching and diseases. Since the 80s there has being populations of this coral that have collapsed from diseases, increased of predation, natural disasters, bleaching, etc. The staghorn coral is known to be susceptible to damage from the sedimentation, salinity variation and temperature sensitiveness.