Pocillopora the cosmopolitan Pacific coral

The Cnidarian Immunity Lab is located in Miami, Florida, and is situated closely to vibrant coral reefs that support many of the ~70 coral species that live in the Caribbean region. However, one important coral species complex that our lab studies is not found in the Caribbean, but rather is widely distributed across the Indo-Pacific and tropical Eastern Pacific regions, ranging from the west coast of Kenya all the way to Panamá. These corals belong to the genus Pocillopora, which are some of the most important groups of corals for the for the study of coral immune system evolution, symbiosis, and resilience against environmental stressors. Our lab has collaborated with scientists in Taiwan and Costa Rica to study Pocillopora coral genetics and symbiosis, and we also care for several Pocillopora colonies obtained from reefs in Panama in seawater aquariums at RSMAS.

Pocillopora corals are an incredibly diverse group of corals and many of the exact species boundaries are still undefined. Pocillopora corals can have vastly different shapes and morphologies, which makes identifying species solely on the basis of visual appearance very challenging.

These corals also live in marginal habitats such as exposed reef crests and mangrove lagoons and can tolerate dramatic changes in environmental conditions such as temperature, salinity, nutrients and exposure to air better than other corals. For this reason, Pocillopora corals are considered to be “weedy”, stress-tolerant and hardy species that are attractive models for aquarium-based experiments that examine responses to different environmental stressors.

For more information on Pocillopora from Taiwan, check out M. Connelly’s paper