Coral Competition

Goniopora sp. being attacked by a member of Faviidae with mesenteric filaments

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Introduction

Corals on wild reefs are in constant competition with other species of corals for space on the reef surfaces. The space is require the corals to gain access to the water current (allowing capture of planktonic prey) and increasing surface area exposure to sunlight (in the case of zooxanthellate corals). As a result, they have managed to develop a wide arsenal of different mechanisms for over powering and killing neighbouring corals. The battle can be very dynamic with time, as the two corals involved respond to the attack by the other and adopting different strategies to get the upper hand.

Some of the methods available to a coral include: mesenteric filaments, feeding tentacles (those normally used for prey capture), sweeper tentacles (specifically grow by the coral to attack another), toxins and shading.

Also note that the corals will also be in competition with other organisms such as algae, sponges, ascidians etc.