vertically from the fallen coral. Some specimens have been found where this has happened more than once, and the history of the colony can be deduced from its shape. If a pillar gets detached and becomes lodged in a suitable position, it can continue to live, sending up new pillars from the base and other parts of the column. Each pillar coral clonal colony is either male or female. Sexual reproduction takes place with gametes being released into the water column where fertilisation takes place. The larvae that develop from the eggs are planktonic and drift with the currents before settling on the seabed to found new colonies. Status The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists pillar coral as being "Critically Endangered". This is because recruitment and survival rates of juveniles is low and this coral is particularly susceptible to both bleaching and white plague disease. It is resistant to strong wave action but can be wrecked by hurricanes and tropical storms. However, broken fragments regenerate well. Some of the localities in which it is found are in marine parks and in these it should be safe from human disturbance. In addition, the advent of stony coral tissue loss disease in Florida and the Caribbean is causing local extinctions and may have species-level effects on this species as it is infected at an early stage of the disease progression. Gallery References External links NOAA Fisheries Species Directory - Pillar Coral Brief video of small specimen in Florida Keys Meandrinidae Corals described in 1834 ESA threatened species Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg