Colonies of Sarcophyton ehrenbergi can vary from a small patch to meters in diameter(pic 1) (Hutchings et al., 2008). The stalk of the coral can vary depending onthe environment: the more exposed to waves, individuals’ stalk grow thick butshort (Fabricius & Alderslade, 2001). Colonies found on Heron showedsimilar characteristics as described in literatures, except shorter colonieswere found probably due to shallow waters to avoid long exposure out of water.Smallest colony found was approximately 20 centimeter in diameter (pic 2), andthe largest was a couple of meters spread out (pic 3).
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Pic1 Large spread out colony of
S. ehrenbergi (picture taken from
(Fabricius& Alderslade, 2001).
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Pic 2 Small colony found on
Heron Island of about 20cm
in diameter.
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Pic 3 Larger colony found on
Heron Island ofabout 1.5 m in
diameter.
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