The document provides information on three coral species: Porites, Symphyllia, and Heliopora. It describes their hierarchical classification, physical characteristics, ranges, threats, and conservation status. Porites is the largest coral colony that can grow up to 8 meters tall. Symphyllia forms dome-shaped brain coral colonies with distinctive valleys. Heliopora secretes a blue skeleton and forms large columnar structures. All three species face threats from climate change, pollution, and the aquarium trade and are listed on CITES to regulate international trade.

1. PORITES

2. HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE

4. Hierarchical Structure
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Order Scleractinia
Family Poritidae
Genus Porites

5. Porites sp.
• largest of all coral colonies (some 8m in
height)
• Growth rate is slow (9mm a year) = maybe
1000 years old (oldest life forms on Earth)
• Coral colonies with many individual polyps
which are joined together at the base of
skeleton
• Colonies may be flat, branching, spherical
or hemispherical (5m across)
• Polyps possess tentacles (most sp. Are
extended only at night)

6. Biology

7. • Polyps have symbiotic
microscopic algae
(zooxanthellae) which
produce energy rich
molecules thru
photosynthesis for polyps’
nutrition
• Separate male and female
sex organs
• Internal fertilization
(depends on free-
swimming sperm from
male colonies reaching the
polyps of female colonies)

8. Range

9. • Occurs in tropical waters
around the world
• Wide range of coral reef
environments
• Common in shallow water
• Most species are tolerant of
areas where sediment
accumulates

10. Threats
• Poor land management practices which
releases more sediment, nutrients and
pollutants into the oceans stressing reefs
• Over fishing’s knock on effects that
results in the increase of macro-algae
that can out compete corals
• Increase in coral bleaching events as a
result of global warming
• Increasing number of predatory
starfishes with which porites cannot
cope up with because of their slow dev’t.
• Coral trades (for ornaments and jewelry)

11. Conservation
• Listed on Appendix II of the
Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) which means trade in
this species must be regulated
• Indonesia and Fiji have export
quotas for Porites corals
• Expansion of Marine Protected
Areas which offers coral reefs a
degree of protection

12. Porites porites
• Branching species
• More sprawling
appearance than other
species
• Branches are curved,
hooked, or project
downwards and
sideways
• Polyps are extended
during daylight
• Color is gray and
occasionally bright blue

13. SYMPHYLLIA

14. Hierarchical Structure

15. Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Order Scleractinia
Family Mussidae
Genus Symphyllia
Species Symphyllia agaricia
* Common Name: Symphyllia Brain Coral

16. •forms flat or dome shaped colonies.
•These colonies have wide valleys that
meander in curves and twists throughout
the coral.
•At times the valley can be so spacious, such
as on a new, single polyp, that it can look like
a completely different species.
• Each polyp has a unique shape and some
have bumps, or ridges in the middle of the
polyp.
Symphyllia

17. •These can be brown, red, or green, and a mix of those
colors as well.
• The 1.3" (35 mm) valleys do help to identify this one from
others in it's genus, having some of the larger valleys.
• The colonies can be flat to hemisperical with straight or
curving valleys.
•These are found only on exposed upper reef slopes.
Symphyllia agaricia

18. Range

19. In the Indo-West Pacific:
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
 East Africa
southwestern Indian Ocean
 northern Indian Ocean
central Indo-Pacific
 north and west and east
Australia
South-east Asia
 Japan and East China Sea
 oceanic West Pacific east to
Fiji.

20. HABITAT AND ECOLOGY

21. Habitat and Ecology: This species is found on most reef
environments. This species can be
found to 40 m.
Systems: Marine
Generation Length
(years):
10

22. STATUS

23. The following species from the Symphyllia genus
are on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.
Symphyllia agaricia: Least Concern (LC)
Symphyllia erythraea: Least Concern (LC)
Symphyllia hassi: Vulnerable (VU)
Symphyllia radians: Least Concern (LC)
Symphyllia recta: Least Concern (LC)
Symphyllia valenciennesii: Least Concern (LC)
Symphyllia wilsoni: Least Concern (LC)

24. THREATS

25. MAJOR THREATS
•In general, the major threat to corals is global
climate change
•The genus is targeted for the aquarium trade.
Indonesia is the largest exporter with an annual
quota of 1,400 live pieces in 2005.

26. MAJOR THREATS
• Coral disease that lead to major cause of reef deterioration
(Weil et al. 2006). Coral disease epizootics have resulted in
significant losses of coral cover and were implicated in the
dramatic decline of acroporids in the Florida Keys (Aronson and
Precht 2001, Porter et al. 2001, Patterson et al. 2002). In the
Indo-Pacific, disease is also on the rise with disease outbreaks
recently reported from the Great Barrier Reef (Willis et al.
2004), Marshall Islands (Jacobson 2006) and the northwestern
Hawaiian Islands (Aeby 2006).
•ocean acidification

27. LOCALIZED THREATS
•fisheries, human development (industry, settlement,
tourism, and transportation)
•changes in native species dynamics (competitors,
predators, pathogens and parasites)
•Invasive species (competitors, predators, pathogens and
parasites),

28. LOCALIZED THREATS
•dynamite fishing
• chemical fishing
• pollution from agriculture and industry
• domestic pollution
• sedimentation
• and human recreation and tourism activities.

29. Conservation Actions

30. ✓All endangered corals are covered in Marine Protected
Areas.
✓Recommended measures for conserving this species
include research in taxonomy, population, abundance
and trends, ecology and habitat status, threats and
resilience to threats, restoration action; identification,
establishment and management of new protected
areas; expansion of protected areas; recovery
management; and disease, pathogen and parasite
management.

31. ✓Artificial propagation and techniques
✓Having timely access to national-level trade data for CITES
analysis reports would be valuable for monitoring trends
this species.
✓Consideration of the suitability of species for aquaria
should also be included as part of fisheries management,
and population surveys should be carried out to monitor the
effects of harvesting.
✓Recommended conservation measures include population
surveys to monitor the effects of collecting for the aquarium
trade, especially in Indonesia.

32. HELIOPORA

33. Hierarchical Structure

34. Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Order Helioporacea
Family Helioporidae
Genus Heliopora
Specific Epithet: Heliopora
coerulea Pallas 1766
Common Name: Blue Coral

35. Heliopora sp.
• Heliopora form large colonies (100cm) that can be arborescent,
plate-like, or most commonly form columns.
• The coral polyp secretes a skeleton (aragonite), at the base of
which it is joined to other polyps to form a colony.
• Its skeleton is covered in a tan to brown or greenish-gray colored
tissue.
• Its interior becomes blue due the coral's ability to extract iron from
surrounding water into a blue salt that is deposited onto the
skeleton.
• The polyps of the blue coral each have eight
tentacles (Octacorallia)

36. BIOLOGY

37. • Blue corals are hermatypic corals. Zooxanthellae can produce
energ-rich molecules that the coral polyps can use as nutrition.
• Blue corals reproduce sexually by brooding where the fertilised
egg develops into larvae inside the polyps. Each polyp produces
one or two larvae, which subsequently attach themselves onto
the colony before release.
• No sexual difference in appearance is known
• The larvae’s dispersal is determined by water movement (has not
been known to swim).

38. Range

39. • Blue corals occur in tropical waters, on
intertidal reef flats and upper reef slopes
• Species is widespread in the Indo-Pacific
region.
• Common in shallow water (0-3 meters)

40. Threats

41. Global Climate Change
• Bleaching
• Increased susceptibility to disease
• Increased severity of ENSO events and storms
• Ocean acidification.

42. Localized
• Fisheries
• Human development (industry, settlement, tourism,
and transportation)
• Invasive species (competitors, predators, pathogens
and parasites),
• Destructive fishing (dynamite fishing, chemical
fishing)
• Sedimentation
• Human recreation and tourism activities.

43. Others
• harvesting for aquarium and curio trade
• localized stochastic events
• extensive reduction of coral reef habitat due to a
combination of threats.

44. Classification

45. Conservation

46. Blue corals are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which means
that trade in this species should be carefully regulated
• research in taxonomy, population, abundance and trends,
ecology and habitat status, threats and resilience to threats,
restoration action
• establishment and management of new protected
• disease, pathogen and parasite management
• Artificial propagation and techniques such as cryo-
preservation of gametes may become important for
conserving coral biodiversity.

47. References
• CITES (October, 2009)
http://www.cites.org
• Veron, J.E.N. (1986) Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Angus & Robertson Publishers, London,
UK.
• Veron, J.E.N. (2000) Corals of the World. Vol. 3. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville,
Australia.
• Wilkinson, C. (2004) Status of Coral Reefs of the World. Australian Institute of Marine Science,
Townsville, Australia.
• Moran, P. (1997) Crown-of-Thorns Starfish: Questions and Answers. Australian Institute of Marine
Science, Townsville, Australia. Available at:
http://www.aims.gov.au/pages/reflib/cot-starfish/pages/cot-000.html
• Green, E. and Shirley, F. (1999) The Global Trade in Corals. World Conservation Press, Cambridge,
UK.
• Symphyllia agaricia . (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2017, from
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/133474/0
• A. (n.d.). Symphyllia Brain Coral. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from
http://animal-world.com/Aquarium-Coral-Reefs/Symphyllia-Brain-Coral#Description
• Obura, D., Fenner, D., Hoeksema, B., Devantier, L. & Sheppard, C. (2008). Heliopora coerulea. The
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T133193A3624060. Retrieved
from http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T133193A3624060.en. on 28 September 2017
• Brough, C. & McBirney, C. (2011). Blue Coral. Retrived from Animal World. Com on september 28,
2017
• Wildscreen Arkive.(2017) Blue Coral (Heliopora coerulea). Retrived from
http://www.arkive.org/blue-coral/heliopora-coerulea/ on September 28, 2017

48. Thanks for listening!
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