Each polyp is an exact copy of all the polyps on the same colony.Staghorn coral get food from photosynthetic algae that live inside the coral's cells. Staghorn corals resemble tumbleweeds of the prairie in that they are often dislodged and tumble to a new place on the reef where they can re-attach and keep growing.

2. Acropora hyacinthus or ´table´ coral is vulnerable to breakage from powerful waves because of its shape. This can be repeated over time to look for change.It is well known that staghorn coral creates important habitat for fishes by forming branchy thickets. An ongoing study is testing coral genotypes (unique individuals) that are being cultured for restoration to determine their relative disease susceptibility or resistance. Impacts from land-based sources of pollution—including coastal development, deforestation (clearing a wide area of trees), agricultural runoff, and oil and chemical spills—can impede coral growth and reproduction, disrupt overall ecological function, and cause disease and mortality in sensitive species.
As temperatures rise, mass coral bleaching events and infectious disease outbreaks are becoming more frequent.

The ultimate goal of the staghorn coral recovery plan is to recover the species so it no longer needs the protection of the ESA. Staghorn coral used to be a dominant coral on Caribbean reefs and was so abundant that an entire reef zone is named for it. Other threats from climate change are sea level rise, changes in currents and storm damage.Get the educational wall poster with indepth information about about how climate change impacts animals. Other threats to staghorn coral are ocean acidification (decrease in water pH caused by increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere) that makes it harder for them to build their skeleton, unsustainable fishing practices that deplete the herbivores (animals that feed on plants) that keep the reef clean, and land-based sources of pollution that impacts the clear, low nutrient waters in which they thrive.NOAA Fisheries and our partners are dedicated to conserving and recovering the staghorn coral populations throughout its range. Broadcast-spawning corals, like staghorn, release eggs and sperm into the water column for fertilization only over a few nights per year. Unsustainable fishing, Coral reefs are increasingly vulnerable to angry oceans. Staghorn coral is particularly susceptible to white band and white plague diseases.Fishing, particularly unsustainable fishing, can have large scale, long-term ecosystem-level effects that can change ecosystem structure from coral-dominated reefs to algal-dominated reefs (“phase shifts”). NOAA Fisheries collects sperm and eggs, fertilizes them and cultures and observes the larvae in the lab to better understand factors that may enhance the likelihood of larvae successfully settling and surviving to adults. A coral is made up of thousands of tiny animals called polyps, protected by a hard skeleton. With branches that are more loosely spaced, they have a more "laid back" look to them. What does it show? What we call ‘corals’ are made up of tiny animals named polyps.


Unfortunately, the Fisheries Service included a giant loophole in its critical habitat rule disregarding the threats of global warming and ocean acidification — so we're preparing to sue again. Higher ocean acidity contributes to bleaching and also reduces the ability of corals and other marine animals to build hard shells.

And now, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the Center, elkhorn and staghorn corals also have almost 3,000 square miles of protected habitat.

Credit: NOAA.This is a map showing elkhorn and staghorn coral critical habitat in Florida and the Caribbean.The purpose of this recovery plan is to identify a strategy for rebuilding and assuring the long…NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-24 Several studies involve understanding coral predators and if predator removal efforts or simple mitigation actions can reduce the impact of predation on restored staghorn coral. Each staghorn coral colony is made up by many individual polyps that grow together. They produce nutrients through photosynthesis which they then pass to the corals. Staghorn corals grow fast to shade out other corals and gain more space on the reef. NOAA Fisheries, with many partners, are taking several steps to help, including:Establishing a network of coral nurseries throughout the species’ range to grow and asexually produced fragments and outplant them to the reef.Ship grounding and other physical impacts can break the branching staghorn corals. Southeast NOAA Fisheries has designated four critical areas determined to provide critical recruitment habitat for staghorn corals off the coast of Florida and off the islands of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.World map providing approximate representation of the Staghorn coral's rangeStaghorn coral reaches reproductive maturity at about 7 inches tall.

We engage our partners as we develop regulations and management plans that foster healthy coral reefs and reduce the impacts of climate change, unsustainable fishing, and land-based sources of pollution.Staghorn coral used to be a dominant coral on Caribbean reefs and was so abundant that an entire reef zone is named for it. Staghorn coral can also form new colonies when broken pieces, called fragments, re-attach to hard surfaces. Temperature rise, salinity changes, nitrogenous and phosphorous pollution, sunblock poisoning, diver & human interaction, …