Snowflake coral in India
Q. Colonies of snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei), an invasive species recently documented off the coast of -- Published on 08 Jan 16a. Port Blair
b. Surat
c. Kolkata
d. Thiruvananthapuram
ANSWER: Thiruvananthapuram
- Colonies of snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei), an invasive species recently documented off the coast of Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari.
- They pose a serious threat to the marine ecology of the region
- The snowflake coral is known to inhabit reefs and underwater structures such as shipwrecks and piers, attaching itself to metal, concrete and even plastic.
- It is considered an invasive species because of its capacity to dominate space and crowd out other marine organisms.
- A native of the tropical Western Atlantic and the Caribbean, C.riisei was first reported as an invasive species from Hawaii in 1972. Since then, it has spread to Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
- In India, it has been reported from the Gulf of Mannar, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Kutch and Goa.
