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As with the loss of old-growth forests that's happening today, we risk species loss, and hence biodiversity. Re-population is predicated on an extant population, a return to suitable conditions, and for the pioneer species to die off. The problem is that, in sustained adverse conditions, the pioneer species may outlive the surviving population of the threatened species.

The faster growing kind is highly susceptible to the crown of thorns starfish so this causes a cycle of explosive growth in the starfish population, which in turn kills the coral it feeds off.

Yes, the branching corals are the fast-growing early colonisers. The habitat they create is attractive for fish and invertebrates. Together they make up a reef ecosystem. The resilient reef-building massive corals typically appear on the reef later and grow much slower.

TIL : https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2016/04/forest-succession-and....