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The Caribbean gorgonian Plexaura kuna was discovered towards the end of the 20th century, which raises the question of sufficient photosynthesis for the zooxanthellae, does sufficient light still reach such depths for the endobacts?
There are hard corals that still find enough light for their zooxanthellae at depths well below 200 metres. An example of this is Leptoseris hawaiiensis, which lived near Kauai, Hawaiii at an incredible depth of 470 metres at a temperature of just 8°Celsius.
The article introduces other deep-water specialists, read here:
"Community ecology of mesophotic coral reef ecosystems"
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227189099_Community_ecology_of_mesophotic_coral_reef_ecosystems
Although Plexaura kuna lives in water depths that divers can reach without much difficulty, the coral does not seem to find its way to the wholesale market, see https://shop.dejongmarinelife.nl.
There are hard corals that still find enough light for their zooxanthellae at depths well below 200 metres. An example of this is Leptoseris hawaiiensis, which lived near Kauai, Hawaiii at an incredible depth of 470 metres at a temperature of just 8°Celsius.
The article introduces other deep-water specialists, read here:
"Community ecology of mesophotic coral reef ecosystems"
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227189099_Community_ecology_of_mesophotic_coral_reef_ecosystems
Although Plexaura kuna lives in water depths that divers can reach without much difficulty, the coral does not seem to find its way to the wholesale market, see https://shop.dejongmarinelife.nl.
