Did you know coral lives in California?! While far from tropical coral reefs, our coastal waters, including some of our marine protected areas (MPAs), are home to deep-water coral species like Lophelia pertusa. Unlike shallow-water corals that get food from symbiotic algae living within their cells, these deep-water corals filter-feed on plankton drifting in the deep sea currents. These deep water corals can be found in a number of locations, including the Channel Islands, Monterey Bay, the Gulf of the Farallones off San Francisco and the continental slope off northern California. For more info be sure to check out www.californiamsf.org/
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Photo credits top to bottom:
*Purple Hydrocoral © Ed Bierman
*Lophelia pertusa © NOAA Ocean Explorer
*Purple Hydrocoral with Urchin© Chad King NOAA/ MBNMS
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