. Cold-water Coral Reefs: out of sight - no longer out of mind. UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 22. GoniocoreUa dumosa from the southwest Pacific. The deep-water Ocutina varicosa with expanded polyps them from gorgonians and arborescent hydroids. The soft tissue consists of thousands of tiny polyps and the colony structure may be branching (bushy, pinnate or fan- shapedl or whip like. About 250 species are l<nown. Most blaci< corals are anchored with a strong holdfast to the hard substrate but some are adapted to live in soft sediments. Blacl< coral colonies can grow several metres high
. Cold-water Coral Reefs: out of sight - no longer out of mind. UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 22. GoniocoreUa dumosa from the southwest Pacific. The deep-water Ocutina varicosa with expanded polyps them from gorgonians and arborescent hydroids. The soft tissue consists of thousands of tiny polyps and the colony structure may be branching (bushy, pinnate or fan- shapedl or whip like. About 250 species are l<nown. Most blaci< corals are anchored with a strong holdfast to the hard substrate but some are adapted to live in soft sediments. Blacl< coral colonies can grow several metres high and are often inhabited by crabs and molluscs. Cold-water soft corals (OctocoraUial The soft corals belong to the systematic group of octocorals to which the sea pens IPennatulacea), blue corals IHelioporaceal and true soft corals lAlcyonacea) are associated. Octocorals are recognized by their polyps, which typically have eight feathered tentacles, and virtually all form colonies. About 2 700 species are scientifically described and most of them belong to the true soft corals. Like the stony corals, true soft corals form large, long-living colonies packed with myriads of tiny polyps that capture food using their tentacles as suspension feeders. Their colonies are the home of specialized fauna, mostly crustaceans and snails that live permanently on or within the coral tissue. This relationship is symbiotic as both the host coral and the associated species benefit. True soft corals are often closely associated with stony coral reefs, for instance the Lophelia reefs off Norway. On seamounts or deep shelves, especially in high latitudes where stony corals are less prominent, true soft corals form the backbone of the coral ecosystem and are usually called octocoral gardens, or forests. Examples of octocoral gardens are found off Nova Scotia and the Aleutians and in many sites along the Pacific coast and on seamounts off Canada and the United States, as well as on Japanese seamounts
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