Cauliflower coral

Pocillopora belongs to the order of Scleractinia, hard corals that play a vital role in the creation of coral reefs. The development of pocillopora is linked to the symbiosis it maintains with a micro-algae that colonises the oral gastrodermis of cnidaria. Through photosynthesis, the micro-algae provide the majority of nutritional elements and thus encourage the construction of the calcareous skeleton constituting the base of the reef. This species develops in a variety of shallow areas, between 1 and 15 metres deep. Breeding can take place through fragmentation or sexual reproduction.

For several years now, the Tropical Aquarium has been assisting teams of researchers from the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in understanding the phenomena behind the development of this species…