Ecology Specialty
SSI Coral Ecology
Coral is the architecture of every dive site in Thailand, from Surin Islands reefs to Similan Islands reefs. The Coral Ecology course teaches you to identify the species that build and sustain these reefs — hard corals, soft corals, encrusting forms — and to read the signs of health and stress that tell you how well a reef is doing.
The Essentials
Coral Ecology — Key Facts
1 day
Duration and Structure
- Digital learning : Coral biology, growth and reef formation
- Training dives : Two to three guided identification dives
- Field skills : Identifying growth forms and assessing reef condition
- Debrief : Species and health indicators reviewed after each dive
Age 10+
Prerequisites
- Certification : Open Water Diver or equivalent
- Age : Minimum 10 years
- Equipment : Underwater slate and identification materials provided
Read the reef
What You Get
- Identify hard and soft coral growth forms and major families
- Recognise signs of bleaching, disease and recovery
- Understand how coral reefs form and why they are vulnerable
- Assess reef health in the field on any subsequent dive
Hard Corals, Soft Corals and Everything Between
The Architecture of Andaman Sea Reefs
Hard corals are the builders — calcifying polyps that form the three-dimensional structure of the reef over decades. Soft corals are the colour — sea fans, leather corals and tree corals that colonise current-swept walls and overhangs. Encrusting forms bind it all together. The course teaches you to distinguish between them, name the major groups and identify whether a reef is healthy, recovering or declining.
- Hard coral growth forms — branching, massive, plate, encrusting and foliose
- Soft coral families — sea fans, leather corals, tree corals and sea pens
- Bleaching signs — thermal stress, colour loss and recovery indicators
- Reef health assessment — coral cover, damage types and recovery rate
- Symbiosis — zooxanthellae relationship and what disrupts it