This grooved brain coral is from the Dominican Republic
This photo of a grooved brain coral is one of my favorite underwater photos that I have ever taken. I took this this photo while diving on the Morales shipwreck in the Dominican Republic off the coast of Bayahibe. This was the first year that I went to the Dominican Republic. That means this was the first time that I had been scuba diving in water that was warmer than 45 degrees! Up until this point, I had only been in quarries in Indiana.
The Morales Underwater Archaeological Preserve in the Dominican Republic is a place that our university would dive on a regular basis. Indiana University installed the cannons, cannonballs, and other artifacts that made up the artificial shipwreck. Research was being done to understand how the reef was effected by the increase in divers due to the creation of an artificial shipwreck. From that first year of research, we were already seeing some signs of increased damage to the reef from divers; such as: cuts on the coral from fins, a dislodged sea fan, among other wounds to the reef.
Grooved brain coral is by far my favorite coral. Its scientific name is Diploria labyrinthiformis. Grooved brain coral, like all coral, is actually a collection of many coral polyps all living together. Grooved brain coral is native to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean as far north as Bermuda and only in the Western Hemisphere. Grooved brain coral can be found as deep as 150 feet.
Did you know that grooved brain coral are nocturnal and will open up their polyps at night to feed? Grooved brain coral will feed on small marine invertebrates. They have a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellate algae that will supply the coral with nutrients as well.
Grooved brain coral can be found in water as deep as 150 feet
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