Pocillopora meandrina

Cauliflower coral forms distinctive branching colonies with knobbly, compact tips that give the genus its common association with the shape of cauliflower florets. As a reef-building scleractinian, it secretes calcium carbonate skeleton that accumulates over time to form structural habitat, providing shelter and foraging grounds for fish, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. Colonies host symbiotic zooxanthellae algae, which supply the coral with energy through photosynthesis and give it its characteristic coloration.

This species is also notable for its role as an early responder to disturbance, often among the first corals to recolonize disturbed reef substrate.

Pocillopora meandrina occurs widely across the Indo-Pacific and into parts of the eastern Pacific, with recorded populations in French Polynesia, the Marshall Islands, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Australia, Japan, China, Thailand, Mauritius, and the United States, as well as Central American and Mexican coastal waters including Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, and Ecuador. It typically inhabits shallow rocky and marine neritic zones, particularly reef flats and slopes exposed to wave action.

The species faces a broad array of ongoing pressures, including habitat degradation from coastal development, sedimentation from agricultural and livestock runoff, pollution from wastewater and agricultural effluents, mining and quarrying impacts, overfishing and harvesting pressure, recreational disturbance, and outbreaks of disease and invasive species. Cumulative reef habitat alteration has contributed to a documented decreasing population trend.

Conservation efforts include marine protected areas across parts of its range, reef monitoring programs, and international trade regulation under CITES. Given the persistence and diversity of ongoing threats, the species' outlook remains concerning, with continued population decline expected absent substantial reduction in cumulative stressors.