Chris Newbert / Right-handed Hermit Crab (Paguritta sp) colony in Hump Coral (Porites sp), Solomon Islands

Chris Newbert / Hermit Crab (Paguritta gracilipes) in Hump Coral (Porites sp) 30 feet deep, Solomon Islands

Georgette Douwma / Jewel tip coral {Porites attenuata} Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Pascal Kobeh / Hard coral (Porites lutea) with Christmas-tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus), New Caledonia, Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Hard coral reef (Porites sp.) exposed by a low spring tide in front of an island. Yillet Island, Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Hard coral (Porites sp.) micro-atoll. A microatoll is a circular colony of coral, dead on the top from exposure to air at low tide, but living around the edge. Their presence in coral reef fossils is...

Linda Pitkin / Stony coral (Porites sp.) with Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) Ras Ghozlani, Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt, Red Sea.

Linda Pitkin / Stony coral (Porites sp.) with Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis), and diver Ras Ghozlani, Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt, Red Sea.

Alex Mustard / Reef octopus (Octopus cyanea) emerges from its den in a hole in a large hard coral (Porites sp.) at sunset. Sha'ab Mahmood, Sinai, Egypt. Red Sea

Alex Mustard / Crescent-tail bigeye (Priacanthus hamrur) shelters next to hard coral (Porites sp.). Beacon Rock, Sha'ab Mahmood, Sinai, Egypt. Red Sea.

Alex Mustard / Hard corals (Porites sp. ) grow in shallow water around limestone rock islands. Korror, Palau, Mirconesia. Tropical west Pacific Ocean

Doug Perrine / Plate and Pillar coral (Porites rus) and Cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina) bleached by warm sea temperatures during 2015 El Nino event, Honaunau Bay, Kona, Hawaii, USA.

Alex Mustard / Dome coral (Porites nodifera) pinnacle or bommie surrounded by fish, including Scalefin anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis), with diver Fury Shoal, Egypt. Red Sea.

Alex Mustard / Chocolate-dip chromis (Chromis dimidiata) male over out of focus hard coral (Porites nodifera). Sha'ab Claudia, Fury Shoal, Egypt. Red Sea

Pascal Kobeh / Algae colony invading a bleached and dead hard coral (Porites sp.) Maldives, Indian Ocean.

Pascal Kobeh / Giant anglerfish (Antennarius commerson) camouflaged on hard coral (Porites sp.) Mauritius, Indian Ocean.

Pascal Kobeh / Diver in front of a Crown of Thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) which is eating the polyps of a hard coral (Porites sp.) Egypt, Red Sea.

Alex Mustard / Colony of Finger coral (Porites porites) on a shallow coral reef. Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands. Caribbean Sea.

Georgette Douwma / Porites coral, stony coral boulders. Egypt, Red Sea.

Pascal Kobeh / Diver near barrel sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria), hard coral (Porites sp) and red whip coral (Ctenocella sp), Walindi, Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Sea.

Pascal Kobeh / Debris of dead corals (Acropora and Porites ) probably due to the bleaching of 1998 an El Nino year which killed a large amount of Maldive corals, Maldives. Indian Ocean.

Pascal Kobeh / Diver on top of a flatreef with hard corals and Acropora tables (Acropora and Porites ) and reef fish, Maldives. Indian Ocean. March 2013.

Pascal Kobeh / Diver on a reef with hard corals (Porites) and Table corals (Acropora) and Magnificent sea anemone (Heteractis magnifica) with Maldives anemonefish (Amphiprion nigripes) Maldives. Indian Ocean. March...

Pascal Kobeh / Coral drop off with soft corals (Dendronephthya) and (Sarcophyton ), hard corals (Acropora) and (Porites) and Jewel fairy basslets (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) Sudan. Red Sea.

Pascal Kobeh / Coral drop off with hard corals possibly (Porites) and Kewel fairy basslets (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) Sudan. Red Sea.

Pascal Kobeh / Coral drop off with hard corals (Porites) and jewel fairy basslets (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) and two-band anemonefish (Amphiprion bicinctus) in a Mertens' sea anemone (Stichodactyla mertensii) Sudan...

Pascal Kobeh / Yellowmouth / Starry moray (Gymnothorax nudivomer) coming out of its hole in a hard coral reef (Porites), coast of Dhofar and Hallaniyat islands, Oman. Arabian Sea.

Pascal Kobeh / Oman anemonefish / clownfish (Amphiprion omanensis) in a Leathery sea anemone (Heteractis crispa) near a hard coral (Porites) with Variable-lined fusiliers (Caesio varilineata) and a diver in the back...

Pascal Kobeh / Common bigeyes (Priacanthus hamrur) on a hard coral reef with (Acropora) and (Porites) Palau. Philippine Sea.

Pascal Kobeh / Young boy snorkeling at the surface above a coral reef with hard corals (Acropora et porites ) and a Sohal / Red Sea surgeonfish (Acanthurus sohal) Egypt. Red Sea. June 2010.

Pascal Kobeh / Young boy snorkeling at the surface above a coral reef with hard corals (Acropora et porites ) and a Sohal / Red Sea surgeonfish (Acanthurus sohal) and a Klunzinger wrasse (Thalassoma klunzigeri) Egy...

Alex Mustard / Hard, reef building corals (Acropora spp) and (Porites sp.) growing on shallow coral bommie. The Alternatives, Ras Mohammed, Sinai, Egypt. Red Sea.

Solvin Zankl / Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) on Porites coral (Porites sp) Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Georgette Douwma / Coralline encrusting algae growing on dead coral patches on Porites, forming a hard calcaerous deposit. Encrusting algae plays an important role in the ecology of coral reefs providing a food source f...

Georgette Douwma / Coralline algae growing on dead coral patches on Porites, forming a hard calcaerous deposit. Encrusting algae plays an important role in the ecology of coral reefs, providing food for many tropical fi...

Georgette Douwma / Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) on Porites coral boulder, Andaman Sea, Thailand

Alex Mustard / Mixed hard coral including finger coral (Porites porites) and soft corals growing on reef, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Star coral (Montastraea annularis) black searod (Plexaura homomalla) and finger coral (Porites porites) with a snorkeller exploring a shallow coral reef, East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Britis...

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp) growing directly under Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp), Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp), Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Pete Oxford / Clubbed Finger Coral (Porites porites), Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, Caribbean

Juergen Freund / Hard / stone coral (Porites sp) Moluccas Islands, Indonesia.

Juergen Freund / Coral reef with a big boulder coral (Porites sp.) and diver. Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, January 2010.

Juergen Freund / Finger coral (Porites sp) growing from a coral pillar, Sipadan, Malaysia.

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Jewel tip coral {Porites attenuata} Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Martha Holmes / Club finger coral {Porites porites} with extended polyps, Jamaica, Caribbean

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Finger coral {Porites cylindrica} and Bristlestar, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Georgette Douwma / Coral reef with table coral (Acropora sp), brain coral and porites coral. Rinca, Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Jeff Rotman / Shallow Coral Reef table, Red Sea, Egypt

Jeff Rotman / Coral Reef table, with reflections from the surface, Red Sea, Egypt

Jeff Rotman / Shallow Coral Reef table, with reflections from the surface, Red Sea, Egypt

Jeff Rotman / Shallow Coral Reef table, with reflections from the surface, Red Sea, Egypt

Juergen Freund / Craig Humphrey and Katharina Fabricius collecting Porites coral head for Coral Life census, Great Barrier Reef, Australia 2008

Juergen Freund / Split level of diver, Katharina Fabricius, and Porites coral heads in shallow reef, Coral Life census, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2008

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Porites / Finger coral (Porites genus) with bite marks of a Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia.

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Porites / Finger coral (Porites genus) with bite marks of a Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia.

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Small giant clam (Tridacna maxima) in Porites coral. Andaman Sea, Thailand

Tim Laman / Massive hard coral (Porites sp.) with bite marks from feeding Parrot fish (Scarus sp) on a coral reef in Palau, Micronesia.

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) on porites coral. Banda, Moluccas, Indonesia.

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Christmas tree worms on porites coral. (S.giganteus) Similan Islands Andaman Sea, Thailand

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Porites coral with Christmas tree worms {Spirobranchus giganteus} Similian Is, Thailand

Martha Holmes / Club finger coral (Porites porites) with polyps extended, Jamaica, Caribbean

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Jewel tip coral {Porites attenuata} and Sea fan, Great barrier reef, Australia

Juergen Freund / Stone coral {Porites sp} with parrotfish bite scratches, Indo-Pacific

Doug Perrine / Longsnout seahorse {Hippocampus reidi} in Finger coral {Porites sp} Caribbean

Fred Bavendam / Hump Coral (Porites sp) one healthy, left, and the other badly bleached, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

Chris Newbert / Harlequin Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) female in front of Hump Coral (Porites sp) 80 feet deep, Solomon Islands

Chris Newbert / Star Horseshoe Worm (Pomatostegus stellatus) growing in Hump Coral (Porites sp) 40 feet deep, Solomon Islands

Fred Bavendam / Clubbed Finger Coral (Porites porites), South Caicos, British West Indies

Fred Bavendam / Hump Coral (Porites sp) colony, part of it exhibiting bleaching which occurs when a coral expels its Zooxanthellae possibly due to heat stress, Indonesia

Fred Bavendam / Hump Coral (Porites sp) colony, part of it exhibiting bleaching which occurs when a coral expels its Zooxanthellae possibly due to heat stress, Indonesia

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Seasquirts, sponge and crinoid on Porites coral, Bunaken, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Francis Abbott / Finger coral {Porites lutea} Bahrain, Persian Gulf

Francis Abbott / Finger coral {Porites nodifera} Persian Gulf

Jeff Rotman / Finger coral {Porites sp} Papua New Guinea

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp) and tube songe, Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp) with Feather Duster Worm (Sabellidae) filter feeding, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Hump Coral (Porites sp) growing directly under Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Bastimentos Marine National Park, Bocas del Toro, Panama

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Christmas tree worms on Porites coral (S giganteus) Thailand, Andaman Sea

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Close up of Jewel tip coral {Porites antennuata} Great Barrier Reef Australia

Doug Perrine / Flame angelfish (Centropyge loriculus) swimming on coral reef, with Finger coral (Porites compressa) behind, Ho'okena, South Kona, Hawaii, Pacific Ocean.

Doug Perrine / White-tail chromis (Chromis leucura) swimming amongst branches of Finger coral (Porites compressa), Ho'okena, South Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, USA, Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Boulder coral (Porites sp.) bleached on a coral reef as a result of elevated water temperatures, which cause the coral to expel its zooxanthellae. This bleaching occured in late 2022, due to warming w...

Tui De Roy / Razor surgeonfish (Prionurus laticlavius) and schooling Blacktip cardinalfish (Apogon atradorsatus) swimming over coral reef with Lobe coral (Porites lobata). Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Pacific Oce...

Doug Perrine / Day octopus (Octopus cyanea) resting on Fringe coral (Porites compressa) in coral reef, Honokohau, North Kona, Big Island, Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Ocean.

Doug Perrine / Day octopus (Octopus cyanea) sitting on Lobe coral (Porites lobata) and placing tentacles beneath it to flush out fish, shadowed by Manybar goatfish (Parupeneus multifasciatus), their hunting partner...

David Fleetham / Rice coral (Montipora flabellata) attempting to outgrow finger coral (Porites compressa) on coral reef, Hawaii, Pacific Ocean.

Doug Perrine / Teardrop butterflyfish (Chaetodon unimaculatus) feeding on Lobe coral (Porites lobata) on reef, North Kona, Hawaii, Pacific Ocean.

Doug Perrine / Big longnose butterflyfish (Forcipiger longirostris) displaying rare, half-dark color phase, swimming over Finger coral ( Porites compressa), North Kona, Hawaii, Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Papuan scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis papuensis) resting on hard coral (Porites sp.) on the reef, Similan Islands, Thailand, Andaman Sea.

Doug Perrine / Whitesaddle goatfish (Parupeneus porphyreus) resting on head of Lobe coral (Porites lobata), South Kohala, Hawaii, Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Female Slingjaw wrasse (Epibulus insidiator) swimming over hard corals (Pavona sp.), (Porites sp.) and (Pocillopora sp.) in shallow water, Jackson Reef, Sinai, Egypt, Red Sea.

Alex Mustard / Hard coral (Pocillopora sp.), (Acropora sp.) and (Porites sp.) garden in shallow water, Jackson Reef, Sinai, Egypt, Red Sea.

Alex Mustard / Abundant growth of hard coral including (Porites sp.) and (Acropora sp.) with schools of Blue-green chromis (Chromis viridis) in the background, Laamu Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean.

Claudio Contreras / Diver inspecting Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) and Finger coral (Porites porites) colonies. Roatan Island, Honduras. Caribbean Sea.