Another Day of Data Collection...Cut Short!

A storm over south Florida made the ocean here too choppy for data collection, so we stayed on land today.

The Teleconferencing Has Been a Success!!

It has been great to try teleconferencing with Mr. Kelly's 3/4/5 class, Ms. Hemsley's 4th grade class and Mrs. Hudson's 5th grade class at St. Helena elementary and Ms. Lisa Neal's 4th grade class in Clearwater, Florida. One of the great things about this project has been experimenting with the technology and sharing information and ideas with the six other teachers here on San Salvador with me.

Thanks for the comments and questions you've posted to this blog...quite a few of you asked questions about what types of coral I'm seeing, so I thought I would give you some info about that. I'm also adding several pages to my school district website, so look for those.

Now, about the coral...

Photo Credit: Steve Pressmore

There are two categories of coral that we are studying: hard coral and soft coral. Today's post will cover several of the hard coral species we are seeing.

Photo credit:Annette Pennock

Lettuce Coral - Agaricia agaricites
Lettuce coral colonies take on four different forms - hemispherical or encrusting, thick flat leaf-like plates with valleys and ridges, thick leaf-like flat plates without valleys and ridges, and lobes. Cups are located on both the upper and under sides of each colony. All forms are tan to yellow-brown, gray-brown, or brown with purplish tinges.

Photo credit: Annette Pennock

Elkhorn Coral - Acropora palmata
The branches of the elkhorn coral are flat and broad, resembling the antlers of elk or moose. The surface is covered with small, protruding round cups. It is brown or yellow-brown with white corallites along the edges, appearing as a white outline. Colonies cover acres of shallow reef bottom, just below the low tide line.

Photo credit:USGS

Staghorn Coral - Acropora cervicornis
Staghorn coral forms antler-like branches growing in tangled dense thickets. The surface is covered with small, protruding round cups. It is brown to yellow-brown with a pale tip on the end of each branch. The tips are quite delicate and easily broken. Found 10-160 feet (3-49 m) below the surface in protected clear water, colonies cover large areas of the reef. The staghorn coral is listed on the Endangered Species Act of 1973 due to its recent decrease in range.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia



Grooved Brain Coral - Diploria labrynthiformis
Forming round boulders, colonies have deep interconnected valleys that contain polyps along with broad ridges that have wide, trough-like grooves running down the middle. The grooved brain coral appears tan, yellow-brown, or brownish gray. Commonly inhabiting the seaward slope of the reef, it ranges from 15-50 feet (4.6-15.2 m) in depth.

Photo credit:Steve Passmore

Common Brain Coral - Diploria strigosa
Colonies form smooth plates or hemispherical domes at depths ranging from 3-130 feet (0.9-39.7 m) The corallites are arranged in long valleys along with ridges having no top groove. This brain coral appears green to brown or yellow brown in color with valleys often of a lighter color.

Photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Knobby Brain Coral -Diploria clivosa

Colonies form irregular domes at depths ranging from 3-130 feet (0.9-39.7 m) The corallites are arranged in long valleys along with ridges having no top groove. Irregular, knobbed or encrusting formations. This brain coral appears darker green to brown or yellow brown in color with valleys often of a lighter color.

Photo credit: Kate Semon

Mustard Hill Coral - Porites asteroides
Forming rounded heads and domes in deeper waters, this coral occurs only in the encrusting form in shallow high water energy environments. The bright yellow or yellow-green surface appears lumpy and porous due to the closely set corallites. The polyps give the colony a soft, fuzzy appearance when extended. The mustard hill coral is common throughout all areas of the reef to depths of 160 feet (48.8 m).

Photo credit: Kate Semon

Massive Starlet Coral - Siderastrea siderea
Forming rounded heads or boulders up to 4 feet (1.2 m) or more in diameter, the surface of the massive starlet coral is covered with round, pitted corallites. These light gray to golden brown uniformly colored corals inhabit shallow to moderate reefs at depths ranging from 25-45 feet (7.6-13.7 m). The massive starlet coral prefers clear water and lives in protected areas of shallow reefs.

Photo credit: Kevin DuBart

Fire Coral - Millepora dichotoma Fire corals have a bright yellow-green and brown skeletal covering and are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical waters. They appear in small brush-like growths on rocks and coral. Divers often mistake fire coral for seaweed, and accidental contact is common. The hair like tentacles are the very powerful stinging nematocyst cells that cause a burning sensation when touched and give fire corals their name. In addition, fire corals have a sharp, calcified external skeleton that can scrape the skinWe don't get anywhere near these guys!

Information courtesy of Florida Museum of Natural History

These are only a few of the different species of hard coral we see in the patch reefs of our study sites, off of Lindsey's Beach, Rocky Point and Monument Beach here on San Salvador.