Corals

Most of the corals we've collected on the San Pedro Shelf are Cup Corals. These corals are a type of stony coral and are solitary, meaning that they don't form reefs like the more common type of corals due. Instead, they find a nice rock to attach to, and spend the rest of their life there. Most corals use zoozanthellae (dinoflagellates) in a symbiotic relationship to get nutrients. Cup corals have tentacles similar to anemones, which move prey into it's mouth. These tentacles will retract into the polyp when necessary.

It is difficult to identify the type of cup corals we find as they are usually attached to a holdfast and are viewed out of water.