Coral reefs of the Virgin Islands other coral larvae to attach to and grow on. These corals can form into three different structures; fringing reefs, which are reefs that are close to the shore, barrier reefs, which are reefs that are alongside the shore and is separated by deep water, and an atoll reef which is a coral reef that circles a lagoon or body of water. As stated, the coral reefs such as fringing reefs, deep reefs, patch reefs and spur and groove formation are distributed over three islands in the Virgin Islands which are St. Croix (Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological
Open brain coral reef communities, and are more often found on sandy reef slopes, around continental islands, and lagoons. Open brain corals can often be found near other free-living corals. Large colonies of open brain corals are uncommon, and are typically only observed in marine protected areas. The IUCN lists open brain corals as "near threatened" due to habitat loss and over-harvesting for the aquarium trade. The biggest exporter of open brain coral is Indonesia. In 2005, Indonesia exported over 60,000 open brain corals for use in the aquarium trade. Other threats to open brain corals include disease, acidification, and severe storms. Open