Endolithic algae influence the skeletal microstructure and porosity of reef-building corals.

ABSTRACT: Coral skeletons provide habitat for a euendolithic community, forming a pigmented band within the skeleton, where Ostreobium is often a dominant group. Euendoliths actively penetrate live coral skeletons, but how they use and modify skeletal structure is not properly understood. This study explores the microstructural characteristics of skeletal microenvironments through a micro-CT technique that analyzes the "footprint" of the euendolithic community on the porosity of coral skeleton. We compared three Porites species samples, all of which exhibited a pigmented green band, based on the percentage of the relative volume of microporosity, macroporosity, total porosity, and solid volume fraction of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) among three distinct zones within the coral colony: coral

SUBMITTER: Uribe ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12289868 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature