Aug. 8, 2013 — NOAA scientists report the discovery of the first known colony of table coral off of the south shore of O'ahu in Hawai'i. A report on the discovery was published last month in the Bulletin of Marine Science.
Given its common name due to its flat-topped, table-like shape, table coral (Acropora cytherea) is one of the primary reef-building corals throughout most of the tropical Pacific, but it has never been observed in waters off O'ahu -- until now, researchers said. The coral, estimated to be 14 years old, was found at a depth of 60 feet during a training dive.
"This discovery represents a significant contribution to the diversity of O'ahu reefs," said Daniel Wagner, Ph.D., NOAA research specialist with Papah
Given its common name due to its flat-topped, table-like shape, table coral (Acropora cytherea) is one of the primary reef-building corals throughout most of the tropical Pacific, but it has never been observed in waters off O'ahu -- until now, researchers said. The coral, estimated to be 14 years old, was found at a depth of 60 feet during a training dive.
"This discovery represents a significant contribution to the diversity of O'ahu reefs," said Daniel Wagner, Ph.D., NOAA research specialist with Papah