Big Bank Shoals of the Timor Sea
An environmental resource atlas

CORAL ECOSYSTEMS

Biology and ecology of soft corals

Soft corals (Order Alcyonacea) are the second most abundant benthic animal in coral reef communities of the Indo-Pacific. They are closely related to the dominant scleractinian corals (Figure 23, 44) but lack the rigid, stony skeleton. They are classified within the Octocorallia goup, a subclass of the Class Anthozoa. The Order Alcyonacea, (species that are commonly called soft corals) and the Order Gorgonacea (gorgonian sea fans and sea whips) are the groups that contain the majority of the octocoral species. Here we consider the general biology of the Octocorallia and focus on features of the Alcyonacea, which were most commonly found in association with hard corals on the banks plateaux. The Gorgonacea are dealt with in the section on deep water, Filter-feeding ecosystems, 60.

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Last updated - 1 September 98

Copyright ©1996-1998 Australian Institute of Marine Science

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