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Reef environments may include natural enemies of the corals. These enemies either remove the living coral tissue or they burrow into the coral and weaken it. Starfish such as Acanthaster planci can consume an entire small colony of coral; parts of larger colonies are usually left uneaten. Other natural enemies include echinoids, annelid worms, copepods, cirripedes, crabs, gastropod mollusks, and fish. There are also cases of one coral species attacking another coral species.
Median coral age varied from 2.5 years to 11.5 years in the Western Moat of the Low Isles. Acropora and Montipora had median ages of 2.5 years. Pocillopora had a median age of 4.5 years. Porites had a median age of 11.5 years, while the massive corals had median ages of 7.5 years. Colony ages varied from 41 years for Symphyllia in Queensland to 140 years for Porites species on the Thursday Island of Queensland. Porites in Samoa had colonies ages of 16, 20, 30, 31, 63, and 86 years. Porites in Fiji had colony ages of 54, 88, and 95 years. Acropora palifera in Heron Is
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