Acropora sp.
Printed From: Utah Reefs
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Forum Name: SPS
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions SPS corals.
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Topic: Acropora sp.
Posted By: Kyle
Subject: Acropora sp.
Date Posted: May 31 2006 at 2:03am
Acropora sp. Acropora formosa Acropora hyacinthus So my plan is to try and alternate sps and lps every week. Acropora is the most dominate sps class we have. But before we can start on individual species of acropora we must learn about the genus itself. Kingdom: Animalia (animals) Phylum: Cnidaria (cnidarians) Class: Anthozoa (anemones and corals) Subclass: Zoantharia Suborder: Astrocoeniina Order: Scleractinia (stony corals) Family: Acroporidae Genus: Acropora Acropora efflorescens Species: Acropora abrolhosensis Acropora abrotanoides Acropora aculeus Acropora acuminata Acropora akajimensis Acropora anthocercis Acropora appressa Acropora arabensis Acropora aspera Acropora austera Acropora awi Acropora azurea Acropora batunai Acropora bifurcata Acropora branchi Acropora brueggemanni Acropora bushyensis Acropora cardenae Acropora carduus Acropora caroliniana Acropora cerealis Acropora cervicornis Acropora chesterfieldensis Acropora clathrata Acropora convexa Acropora cophodactyla Acropora copiosa Acropora corymbosa Acropora crateriformis Acropora cuneata Acropora cylindrica Acropora cytherea Acropora danai Acropora dendrum Acropora derawanensis Acropora desalwii Acropora digitifera Acropora divaricata Acropora donei Acropora downingi Acropora echinata Acropora efflorescens Acropora elegans Acropora elegantula Acropora elizabethensis Acropora elseyi Acropora eurystoma Acropora exquisita Acropora fastigata Acropora fenneri Acropora filiformis Acropora florida Acropora formosa Acropora forskali Acropora gemmifera Acropora glauca Acropora globiceps Acropora gomezi Acropora grandis Acropora granulosa Acropora haimei Acropora halmaherae Acropora hemprichii Acropora hoeksemai Acropora horrida Acropora humilis Acropora hyacinthus Acropora indiana Acropora indonesia Acropora inermis Acropora insignis Acropora intermedia Acropora irregularis Acropora jacquelineae Acropora japonica Acropora kimbeensis Acropora kirstyae Acropora kosurini Acropora lamarcki Acropora latistella Acropora lianae Acropora listeri Acropora loisetteae Acropora lokani Acropora longicyathus Acropora loripes Acropora lovelli Acropora lutkeni Acropora macrostoma Acropora maryae Acropora massawensis Acropora meridiana Acropora microclados Acropora microphthalma Acropora millepora Acropora minuta Acropora mirabilis Acropora monticulosa Acropora mossambica Acropora multiacuta Acropora muricata Acropora nana Acropora nasuta Acropora natalensis Acropora navini Acropora nobilis Acropora ocellata Acropora orbicularis Acropora palifera Acropora palmata Acropora palmerae Acropora paniculata Acropora papillare Acropora parahemprichii Acropora parapharaonis Acropora parilis Acropora pectinatus Acropora pharaonis Acropora pichoni Acropora pinguis Acropora plana Acropora plantaginea Acropora plumosa Acropora polystoma Acropora prolifera Acropora prostrata Acropora proximalis Acropora pruinosa Acropora pulchra Acropora rambleri Acropora retusa Acropora robusta Acropora rosaria Acropora roseni Acropora rudis Acropora rufus Acropora russelli Acropora samoensis Acropora sarmentosa Acropora scherzeriana Acropora schmitti Acropora secale Acropora sekiseiensis Acropora selago Acropora seriata Acropora simplex Acropora solitaryensis Acropora sordiensis Acropora spathulata Acropora speciosa Acropora spicifera Acropora squarrosa Acropora stoddarti Acropora striata Acropora subglabra Acropora subulata Acropora suharsonoi Acropora sukarnoi Acropora tanegashimensis Acropora tenella Acropora tenuis Acropora teres Acropora tizardi Acropora togianensis Acropora torihalimeda Acropora torresiana Acropora tortuosa Acropora tumida Acropora turaki Acropora tutuilensis Acropora valenciennesi Acropora valida Acropora variabilis Acropora variolosa Acropora vaughani Acropora vermiculata Acropora verweyi Acropora walindii Acropora wallaceae Acropora wardii Acropora willisae Acropora yongei So there they are all 182 known species of Acropora. Did i forget any? Characters:Colonies are usually branching, bushy or plate-like, rarely encrusting or submassive. Corallites of two types, axial and radial. Septa are usually in two cycles. Columellae are absent. Corallite walls and the coenosteum are porous. Tentacles are usually extended only at night. J.E.N. Veron Similar genus: Only the faviid Cyphastrea decadia and the azooxanthellate oculinid Arcohelia rediviva have similarly distinct axial and corallites. J.E.N. Veron The growth-forms and corallite shapes of acropora. J.E.N. Veron: Acropora have a much wider range of growth-forms useful to taxonomy than other characters. Most of these forms are described by non-taxonomic terms. Two specialist terms, corymbose and caespitose are also commonly used. arborescent: colonies concist of tree-like branches. bottlebrush: colonies have numerous short side branchlets projecting out from the main branch. caespitose: colonies are bushy, being composed of branches which interlock similary in three dimensions. clumps: colonies consist of short closely compacted branches. columnar: colonies form columns. corymbose: colonies consist of horizontal anastomosing branches and short upright branchlets. cushion-like: colonies consist of fine branches and grow into the shape of a cushion. digitate: colonies consist of short, non-dividing, non-anastomosing branches like the fingers of a hand. encrusting: colonies encrust the substrate. Most species have encrusting bases. massive: colonies are solid and similar in size in all dimensions. prostrate: colonies sprawl over the substrate. staghorn: colonies primarily consist of large upright branches. table- or plate-like: colonies are flat, either with one central leg or attached to the substrate at one side. Most tables and plates are corymbose. thicket: colonies consist of closely compacted upright branches.
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Replies:
Posted By: Kyle
Date Posted: June 01 2006 at 12:41am
Acropora cerealis Acropora humilis Identification of acropora species JEN Veron: Common species are usually not difficult to recognise if a well developed colony has been observed underwater. Although Acropora displays the greatest variety of growth-forms of any coral genus, only one subgenus (isopora) can be distinguished, and that only on the basis of coenosteum microstructure. In general, species of acropora may be superficially similar (for example, they form 'staghorns' or 'plates') but have different structural detail (especially the shape of radial corallites), while others are similar in structure detail but have different growth-forms. The shape and general apperance of corallites are important for identification; septal arrangements and coenosteum characters are usually much less so. Intraspecific latitudinal change reaches an extreme in Acropora, with the majority of species forming taxonomically meaningful geographic subspecies in subtropical (high latitude) reefs on rocky foreshores. Acropora can be divided into the following groups, based on a combination of growth-form and corallite characters. These groups differ from those of Veron and Wallace (1984) and wallace (1999) to increase emphasis on underwater characters as opposed to skeletal characters. Neither they, nor those used by other authors, have a well defined taxonomic basis. The most important group character(s) are in italics. Acropora tortuosa Group 1: Species forming solid plates and columns with no distinctive axial corallites. Group 2: Species with thick tubular branches and immersed radial coralites. Group 3: Species with irregular branches and prominent radial corallites. Group 4: A buffalohorn-like species. Group 5: An elkhorn-like species. Group 6: Large staghorn-like species. Group 7: Large encrusting or horizontaly branching species with rasp-like radial corallites. Group 8: Large horizontally branching species with upturned branch ends. Group 9: Species with interlocking basal branchesand sharp edge radial corallites. Group 10: Species with interlocking basal branches and rounded radial corallites. Group 11: Species with conspicuous secondary branches and smooth edged corallites. Group 12: Small staghorn-like species. Group 13: Species with Group 1: Species forming solid plates and columns with no distinctive axial corallites. Group 2: Species with thick tubular branches and immersed radial coralites. Group 3: Species with irregular branches and prominent radial corallites. Group 4: A buffalohorn-like species. Group 5: An elkhorn-like species. Group 6: Large staghorn-like species. Group 7: Large encrusting or horizontaly branching species with rasp-like radial corallites. Group 8: Large horizontally branching species with upturned branch ends. Group 9: Species with interlocking basal branchesand sharp edge radial corallites. Group 10: Species with interlocking basal branches and rounded radial corallites. Group 11: Species with conspicuous secondary branches and smooth edged corallites. Group 12: Small staghorn-like species. Group 13: Species with middle sized branches and sharp edged coralites. Group 14: Species with middle sized branches and irregular radial corallites. Group 15: Species with irregular middle sized branches interlocking branches forming compact thickets. Group 16: Species with fine interlocking branches forming compact thickets. Group 17: Species with flat branches and radial coralites on branch sides. Group 18: Species forming plates and tables with robust horizontal branches. Group 19: Species forming tables with fine horizontal branches. Group 20: Species forming digitate clumps with cylindrical branches and distinctive radial coralites. Group 21: Species forming digitate clumps with finger-like branches. Group 22: Species forming digitate plates with small branchlets. Group 23: Species forming irregular clumps with very dominant axial coralites. Group 24: Species forming digitate clumps with spiny corallites. Group 25: Species forming corymbose cushions and thickets with scale-like radial coralites. Group 26: Species forming with scale-like radial corallites. Group 27: Species forming corymbose clumps with thin branchlets and appressed radial corallites. Group 28: Species forming corymbose clumps with diverging horizontal branches and small radial corallites. Group 29: Species forming corymbose clumps with thin branchlets and radial corallites with flaring lips. Group 30: Species forming corymbose plates with short compact branchlets and variable radial corallites. Group 31: Species forming corymbose bushes or plates with elongate tubular axial corallites. Group 32: Species forming corymbose bushes with conspicuous rounded corallites. Group 33: Species forming bushes with irregular smooth edged radial corallites. Group 34: Species forming bushes with sharp edged radial corallites. Group 35: Species forming bushes with appressed radial corallites. Group 36: Species forming thickets with fine upright branches and conspicuous radial corallites. Group 37: Species forming tangles with delicate branches and fine radial corallites. Group 38: Species forming bottlebrush colonies.
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Posted By: Kyle
Date Posted: June 01 2006 at 10:56am
Acropora millepora Acropora gemmifera Captive care Eric Borneman: Highly adaptable, Acropora can exist in turbid lagoons, wave-pounded reef crests, and calm reef flats. Many species are regularly out of water at low tide, relying on their UV-absorbing substances and heavy mucus coat to survive until the water levels rise again. They tolerate huge differences in light intensity, water movement, and even salinity, as shallow, protected reefs become exposed to tremendous downfalls and land-based rainwater runoff. The amount of research and description on the Acropora genus alone could fill a small library, and their forms intrigue both underwater observers and aquarium hobbyists alike. Given the recent evolutionary success of these corals in demanding reef conditions, it would be expected that one could virtually ship them in an envelope across continents, place the corals in a pitcher of saltwater, and have them grow. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, they are very demanding in captivity. By the same token, they are consistently found in dozens of studies to be some of the most sensitive species in tolerating temperature change, sedimentation, and other chemical and environmental stresses that are outside their normal conditions. However, once a certain critical acclimation period has been passed, and if stable conditions are present, Acropora will thrive! When selecting wild Acropora, the presence of axial corallites should be noted. This will signify that the coral is or was from a rapidly growing area of the colony and has not been removed from an interior area of the colony where growth rates were limited. Broown tips, where the axial corallite has become indistinguishable from the radial corallites, do not grow as well in terms of branch extension, though infilling and radial growth may still occur. A new axial corallite can develop under favorable conditions, but as a metabolic cost to the coral that may not be feasible with newly placed specimens, many such examples fail to thrive in their new environment. In general, Acropora species with thick branches are reported to be more difficult to keep than those with thin branches, probably due to an inability of the captive environment to provide enough water flow. Furthermore, many thick-branched species seem more prone, initally, to problems. Brown specimens, bottlebrush types, and thin-branched types seem to be somewhat more "tolerant" as they are typically from lower water flow and light conditions. Tabletop-type Acropora species are among the most difficult to keep, with the traditional staghorn varities somewhere in between. Captive-bred specimens are generally healthier and much easier to care for than wild-caught colonies. Nonetheless, all Acropora seem to prefer a strong, random, mixing-type current for maximum health and growth, high levels of calcium and (anecdotally) strontium, and intense lighting. Very few species, except perhaps captive-bred colonies, will tolerate moderate lighting and water flow. Water parameters should also be excellent. It is not advisable to keep Acropora in new tanks, as the stability of a mature tank offers a much higher chance of success. Acropora suffer from many maladies, including certain predatory animals they harbor within their branches. Others harbor commensal crabs and shrimp, which are symbiotic in offering protection to the coral from predation. Quite a number of fishes and other animals prey exclusively on acroporid tissue. Acropora need careful acclimation so that they are not shocked by light or water-parameter changes, yet they must be placed in their final position quickly enough to avoid stress or unfulfilled metabolic needs. Such stresses include low light and water current, as well as movement from position to position. Acropora do not tolerate any sudden changes in tank conditions, and they may bleach, die, recede, or rapidly waste away if stability is not maintained. All right that`s it this week! Lets see your ACRO PICS PEOPLE!!!!
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