The three major types of coral reefs around the world are atolls, fringing reefs and barrier reefs. Florida's coral reef system most closely resembles a barrier reef, however, the reefs are closer to shore and they lack the shallow inshore lagoons found on most barrier reefs so it is more aptly named a bank reef. Florida also has patch reefs, which grow between the reef tract and the land in shallower waters. Patch reefs are typically small (the size of your back yard or a small home).
More than 45 species of stony corals and 37 species of octocorals are found along the Florida Reef Tract. Each kind lives in a separate colony that is shaped differently. The colonies take on the various hues of the algae that live within them. Corals can generally be divided into two main categories: stony corals and octocorals (sea fans and other soft corals). Marine sponges are also very important within the coral reef community and over 70 species can be found along the Florida Reef Tract.
Stony corals are the major reef architects. Polyps, the living portion of corals, extract calcium from seawater and combine it with carbon dioxide to construct the elaborate limestone skeletons that form the reef backbone.Staghorn coral
Florida's most common reef-building corals are brain, star, elkhorn and staghorn. Brain coral is dome-shaped and has the waves, folds and ridges that resemble those of a human brain. Star coral is also dome-shaped, but has a distinctive star pattern on its surface that is caused by the accordion-like folds within its polyp cups. Elkhorn and staghorn corals are so named because their branchlike projections resemble the antlers of those animals. In recent years, corals have experienced declines due to a combination of factors, including coral disease and damage from hurricanes. In 2006, elkhorn and staghorn coral were listed as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. To restore these corals that were once so abundant, coral nurseries have become established along Florida's coast and in the Florida Keys. Nurseries are growing new colonies and successfully out-planting them to locations where they had once flourished.