Isopora crateriformis
A threatened Indo-Pacific coral recorded by NOAA
“I live in the Coral Triangle, one of the richest seas for life on Earth, and in the central Pacific Ocean. In shallow reefs, I grow low and wide, pressed close to the reef like a hard flat plate. My surface is not smooth. It has small ripples and many tiny openings across it. I can live where strong waves move over me. Small sea animals pass near my wide surface and use the reef around me as their home. In some places, I can still be common. But even common corals can be at risk when the ocean changes too fast. If the shallow reef becomes weaker, the wide living ground I help make may hold less life than before.”