ECOLOGY

The Coeloplana studied have been harvested from Heron Island on rock plates. They were transported back to the University of Queensland, on St Lucia campus, and maintained in aquariums on the campus.

On Heron Island, its natural habitat, Coeloplana agniae lives on the reef slope, outside the reef crest and facing the open sea, where it can found suitable substrates.

Heron reef slope is composed by the lindward and the windward slopes. They can be quite steep: 10-20º and 10-40º respectively. As the steep is important, the light becomes rarer quite quickly with depth. The seagrasses also contribute in shading the surface.

The coral community is essentially composed by Porites, staghorn corals and domal corals that cover the slope surface. When the light is rarer, corals assume more plate-like shape to get as much light as possible.
Corals don't grow under 10 meters deep where the reef rubble starts.