Acropora cervicornis
staghorn coral

Species of the genus -Acropora- are favorable to warm water marine environments. In particular, -Acropora cervicornis- is one of the primary reef building corals in the Caribbean (Birkeland 1997). These species are also located in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia (McGregor 1974).

Acropora cervicornis like to live in warm, marine water close to the surface. The tropical western regions of the oceans are where there is most of the coral diversity of coral reef organisms (Birkeland 1997). The polyps that form the coral need tropical waters where the temperatures are higher than 20 degrees centigrade and there is adequate light. They also require a hard surface for which the coral polyps can settle. Staghorn corals, as well as all other corals, need very oxygenated water containing adequate supplies of small planktonic animals. Corals also need clear water, because apart from reducing the light, and heavy rain of sediment would smother them (McGregor 1974)

These corals commonly have tentacles in multiples of three, which is characteristic of all corals belonging to the subclass Zoantharia, also known as Hexacorallia (Encarta 1997). At night, the tiny fingerlike tentacles of the corals emerge. They pump themselves up with water and pop out like tiny stars all over a coral reef (Sargent 1991). The staghorn coral, -A. cervicornis-, grows into "antler-like branches" so the polyps are raised above the sand (McGregor 1974). Staghorn corals have nematocysts, which are stinging cells that are located on their tentacles. These stinging cells are necessary for a coral to obtain food (Sisson 1973).

Staghorn corals as well as many other corals have a very unique symbiotic relationship with algae, in particular the zooxanthellae. These microscopic plants live inside the bodies of all reef-building polyps aiding their growth in an uncertain way. Without these alga, corals grow at 1/10th of the speed and are unable to establish the framework that is necessary for the growth of a coral reef (McGregor 1974). Because the alga need light for photosynthesis, they play an important role in where a coral can live. Carbon is passed by the alga to the coral increasing its energy, and the food caught by the coral may supply nitrogen and phosphorus for both organisms (Encarta 1997).

Staghorn corals use their nematocysts which are located on their tentacles for eating and gaining food. Surprisingly some Acropora species have actually been seen capturing live fish (Sisson 1973). Staghorn corals also eat planktonic animals which float by in the water (McGregor 1974).

There really are not any negative effects that corals cause to humans. Sometimes they can damage or wreck a boat, but usually they are pretty harmless to humans

Acropora cervicornis house many creatures, some of which may be useful to the medical research field. Some of the species that live in the corals have already yeilded compounds active against inflammations, asthma, leukemia, tumors, heart disease, fungal and bacteria infections, and even viruses including HIV (Chadwick 1999). Staghorn corals are also of vital importance to the stabilization of coastlines, as fish habitats, and for the protection of our biodiversity (Nemoto 1992).

The coral reefs in the eastern tropical Pacific have been most severly degraded by climatic events. Especially after the El Nino of 1982-1983. Many of these reefs have continued to deteriorate since then because coral recruitment has been sparse and sea urchins continue to erode away the framework of the coral. Coral bleaching (loss of zooxanthellae and/or pigment) has been increasingly wide-spread and frequent. A couple men surveyed more than 2,000 sites in the British Virign Islands and found that over 95% of the -Acropora- were dead in 1993. However, there is not special status for the -Acropora cervicornis- at this time(Birkeland 1997).