Substrate – Living Oceans Foundation

[suhb-strayt]
A surface where an organism can attach and/or grow.

Glossary: Encrusting
A coral growth form that adheres to rocky substrates. They do not grow upwards, they grow outward, covering the rocky substrate. Also referred to as crustose.
Glossary: Sclerites
(Singular: sclerite) Microscopic spicules (shards) composed of calcium or aragonite that help to support the structure of soft corals and anchor them to the substrate.
Glossary: Artificial coral reefs
A restoration method that uses an artificial manmade structure to promote the growth of corals and other organisms that need a hard substrate to grow.
Glossary: Bailout
A form of asexual reproduction where a single polyp abandons its colony and settles on substrate to create a new colony.
Glossary: Basal Disk
The first skeletal element deposited by a planula. This anchors corals to the substrate; located aborally. It is also the area where hard corals secrete calcium carbonate. Also, referred to as the basal plate.