Hawaiian gold coral

Hawaiian gold corals display an interesting growth mechanism, spreading at a rate of about 2.2 ± 0.69 cm yr−1 cm per year. Radiocarbon dating has been used to determine the radial growth rate of K.haumeaae which exhibits a relatively slow radial growth rate with a remarkable age of 807 ± 30 years for a live-collected specimen, highlighting the species' exceptional longevity. These rates makes it a slow-growing coral species indicating a prolonged maturation process, with colonies taking centuries to millennia to fully develop. These exceptionally slow growth rates and long lifespans old implications for the conservation of gold coral populations considering which underscores the vulnerability of these corals to environmental disturbances and anthropogenic impacts. A 2015 study focused on the settlement, colonization, and succession patterns of K.haumeaae found that significant portions of the host coral skeleton are lost as it becomes subsumed by gold coral tissue, suggesting that the success of gold coral colonization may rely less on the height or size of the host colony and more on the suitability of the location for growth and survival. As filter feeders, gold corals consume organic material, including dead phytoplankton, that floats down to the deep sea from above. Throughout their life, they grow their skeletons in chronological rings, which contain amino acids that researchers have studied to determine the types of dominant phytoplankton from the past. Ultimately, by studying these rings, researchers can determine how phytoplankton compositions have changed in the past in response to climate changes. Because plankton are important indicators of productivity, and impact marine food-webs, biogeochemical cycles, and the biological carbon pump, this information can offer important insights into the past structure and function of marine ecosystems. It also accentuates awareness of the ways in which the oceans have responded to climate changes in the past, to help scientists determine what changes may be expected in the future. == Habitat ==

Hawaiian gold corals are found off the coasts of Hawaiian Islands, and have been reported at depths as shallow as 343m, and deep as 575m. They are often found on skeletons of past bamboo coral colonies that have died. == Ecological role ==

The Hawaiian gold coral is parasitic, as it colonizes a host colony. Gold coral trees have also been evidenced as habitats for deep-water eels and galatheid crabs. A parasitic barnacle, cirriped of the infraclass Acrothoracica, has been found on Hawaiian gold coral polyps. More information is still needed to determine the interaction between the two species. ==In Jewelry==

Gold coral is prized in jewelry making for its iridescent qualities, which are similar to tiger's eye. The jewelry trade in fact added to scientists' knowledge of the corals' parasitic characteristics, as when large colonies were collected for jewelry making, they discovered that bamboo corals are a common host for gold coral colonies. Because the coral is slow-growing, and more research is required on its ecological role and status, this extension prevents overfishing and destruction of the ecosystem before more is known about it. International trade therefore primarily consists of jewelry made from pre-moratorium stock, which may be decades old. ==References==