Brief Information on Coral Reefs.

1. By: Erika Jones

2.  CoralReef- A coralreefis a communityofliving
organisms.It is madeupofplants,fish,andmanyother
creatures.Coralreefs aresomeofthemostdiverse
ecosystemsin theworld.Theyarehometoabout25%of
allmarinelife.

3.  TemperaturerangeindegreesF andC:16-30degreesCelsiusand61-86
degreesFahrenheit.
 Coralreefsarelocatedintropicaloceansneartheequator.Thelargest
coralreefis theGreatBarrierReefin Australia.Thesecondlargestcoral
reefcanbe foundoff thecoastof Belize,inCentralAmerica.
OtherreefsarefoundinHawaii,theRedSea,andotherareasintropical
oceans.

4.  They occupy less than 0.1% of the world's
ocean surface, about half the area of France,
yet they provide a home for 25% of all marine.
 New research shows coral reefs are in steep
decline, with half of the reef vanishing in the
past 27 years. That overall 50-percent decline,
they estimate, is a yearly loss of about 3.4
percent of the reef.

5.  Coralreefsflourisheventhoughtheyaresurroundedby oceanwatersthat
providefewnutrients.
 ReefsintheFloridaKeys, holdat least45 speciesof stonycoral,37speciesof
octocoral, fivespeciesof sea turtles, 500speciesof fish, about1,700speciesof
mollusksandhundredsofspeciesof sponges.Inadditiontotheirincredible
valueas wildlifehabitat, coral reefsprotectcoastlinesfromstormsandprovide
billionsofdollarsof foodandjobseveryyeartopeoplearoundtheworld.

6.  Coral reefs deliver ecosystem
services to tourism, fisheries
and shoreline protection. The annual
global economic value of coral reefs is
estimated between US$ 29.8-375
billion. However, coral reefs are fragile
ecosystems, partly because they are
very sensitive to water temperature.
They are under threat from climate
change , oceanic acidification, blast
fishing, cyanide fishing for aquarium
fish, sunscreen use , overuse of reef
resources, and harmful land-use
practices, including urban
and agricultural runoff and water
pollution, which can harm reefs by
encouraging excess algal growth
Are
Coral
Reefs In
Danger?

7.  Sponges- Spongesareessentialfor the
functioningof thecoralreef'secosystem.
Algaeandcoralsin coralreefsproduce
organicmaterial.
 GiantClam- a clamthatis thelargest
livingmullusk. Theycan weighmorethan
200kilograms(440lb), measureas muchas
120cm(47in) across,andhavean average
lifespanin thewildof 100yearsor more.
 Caribbeanreefsquid -knownas just
theReefSquid,is a smalltorpedo
shapedsquidwithfinsthatextend
nearlytheentirelengthof thebody
andundulaterapidlyas it swims.It
canflyoutof thewater;a discovery
whichfinallyledto identificationof six
speciesof flyingsquid