Corals are diverse groups of invertebrate animals. Coral polyps are tiny, soft-bodied organisms that are related to jellyfish and sea anemones.

Different species of coral are found in different habitats and different locations around the world. Hard corals like lobed star coral and pillar coral are reef-building corals. Colonial hard corals, consisting of hundreds to hundreds of thousands of individual polyps, are cemented together by the calcium carbonate “skeletons” they secrete. As colonies grow over hundreds and thousands of years, they join with other colonies and become reefs. Some of the coral reefs on the planet today began growing over 50 million years ago.

Soft corals do not produce a rigid calcium carbonate skeleton and do not form reefs, although they are often found in reef ecosystems. Soft corals are also colonial animals. Often, what appears to be a single large organismresembling trees, bushes, fans, and whipsis actually a colony of individual polyps combined to form a larger structure. 

Coral reefs teem with life. Although they cover less than one percent of the ocean floor, they support about 25 percent of all marine creatures. Corals are particularly vulnerable to the effects of human activities including pollution, climate change, sedimentation, and fishing. Under the Endangered Species Act, more than 25 coral species are listed as threatened or endangered. 

NOAA Fisheries works to better understand and conserve coral species and coral reef habitats both domestically and internationally.


Species News

A collage of photos shows schools of fish, vibrant reefs, scuba divers laying transects, and scientists sharing information with the public. A few of the highlights from the 2023 mission. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
Multiple schools of colorful fish blanket a coral reef. Fish community on a reef offshore of Baker Island, a remote equatorial island. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Jeff Milisen
Yellow coral that has colonies of thick, finger-like branches that are always closely spaced. Acropora globiceps at Tinian island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Under the Endangered Species Act, A. globiceps is listed as threatened in CNMI, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaiʻi, and the Pacific Remote Islands Area. Credit: Doug Fenner

Multimedia

Tan corals fanning out with fish swimming among them The branches of fast-growing elkhorn coral provide important habitat for fish. Populations of this iconic coral have declined across the Caribbean due to disease, bleaching and storms. Credit: NOAA

Research

Peer-Reviewed Research

Juvenile Coral Abundance Across the U.S. Pacific Influenced by Depth, Heat Stress, Coral Cover, Suitable Substrate, and Human Density

Our results also suggest coral density is dependent on several factors, including and the number of…

Peer-Reviewed Research

Coral Reefs Benefit From Reduced Land–Sea Impacts Under Ocean Warming

New research published in Nature demonstrates that integrating land and sea in coastal ocean…

Peer-Reviewed Research

Ocean Currents Magnify Upwelling and Deliver Nutritional Subsidies to Reef-Building Corals During El Niño Heatwaves

Results reveal how large-scale ocean-climate interactions affect reef ecosystems thousands of…

Peer-Reviewed Research

Ocean Currents Magnify Upwelling and Deliver Nutritional Subsidies to Reef-Building Corals During El Niño Heatwaves

Results reveal how large-scale ocean-climate interactions affect reef ecosystems thousands of…

Understanding Ocean Acidification

Learn how our oceans are absorbing increasingly more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, leading to lower pH and greater acidity.

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