Scleractinia What are thepictures? are What areef Life anddeath of thisgroup Key speciesof What aretheScleractinia?What Desmophyllum dianthus Desmophyllum dianthus Conservation for the United Kingdom Project. Conservation for theUnited Kingdom www.lophelia.org and pr fact-sheet waThis 2003).(© Ifremer&AWI, 2005). Acrablivescoral among R collected fromtheMingulay Carolina (©NOAAOc Images fromtop:Aspecimenof time. gradually over eroded byneed tobereplenished new answerwater coralreef?The Soist to sedentary sponges. deadcoralareassupportani These thehighes has physical damage) (thebits coralrubble mals, but livingThe reefcansustaina developing reef. coralco strengthened asnew intricate branching,whichallows will andformanew grow col new recr strate. Providingthe star Reef-building stony corals Lophelia pertusa keyframework reefs.The cold-w sixthese, thereareonlyspecie are497cold-waterstonyThere funda Oculina varicosa. reefs, and it is these that the reefs, anditisthese ton. Only colonialcorals asingle are solitary, encasing Only aquarterofnon-symbiotic with foun majority the Of these,only 26% lacksy scribed, ofwhich 672 scleractiniancoralspeciesde- there have1,334 been formed careous skeletonthat areknownThey cora asstony , Gonicorella dumosa ,

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