compact ivory bush coral

Oculina arbuscula is a branching temperate coral found along the east coast of the United States from Florida to North Carolina. It has a facultative symbiosis with microalgae of the family Symbiodiniaceae. Unlike tropical corals, O. arbuscula can survive without its algal endosymbionts by switching to a predominantly heterotrophic feeding strategy. Symbiotic colonies are typically found in shallower waters due to light availability, whereas aposymbiotic (without symbionts) or mixed colonies are found as deep as 200m. The ability of O. arbuscula to exist in different symbiotic states makes it a good model system for studying the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.