Acropora elseyi

Acropora elseyi is a stony coral belonging to the family Acroporidae, known for its branching growth form typical of the genus, which builds complex three-dimensional colonies through the deposition of calcium carbonate skeletons. Like other Acropora species, it is a colonial organism whose polyps extend at night to capture zooplankton, supplementing energy derived from photosynthetic zooxanthellae housed within its tissues. As a reef-building coral, it contributes structural habitat that supports fish and invertebrate biodiversity, and its rapid growth makes it an important early colonizer following reef disturbance.

The species occurs in shallow marine neritic waters across a broad Indo-Pacific range, including Australia, Thailand, Mayotte, Myanmar, Yemen, Taiwan, China, Japan, and Palau, typically inhabiting reef flats and slopes where light penetration supports symbiotic algae.

Acropora elseyi is listed as Endangered, with a decreasing population trend. Threats include destructive fishing and harvesting practices, damage from recreational activities such as diving and anchoring, disease outbreaks and predation by native species such as crown-of-thorns starfish, and pollution from urban wastewater and agricultural runoff. Habitat degradation is compounded by storms, flooding, and broader habitat shifting linked to climate change, as well as sediment and nutrient loading from adjacent land use, including agricultural crop production and fire management practices affecting coastal catchments.

Conservation efforts affecting this species are largely embedded within broader reef protection frameworks, including marine protected areas, water quality improvement programs targeting agricultural and urban runoff, and international trade regulation under CITES, which lists all Acropora species. Reef restoration initiatives in parts of its range also incorporate coral propagation.

Given its exposure to compounding local and global stressors, particularly warming-related bleaching and pollution, the species' population trajectory is expected to remain downward without sustained reductions in cumulative reef pressures.