2. Coral
•Coral reefs are underwater
structures that are home to many
tiny fish and organisms.They only
cover about 1% of the ocean.
•Coral Reefs are made up of
“scleractinians” which is a group
that includes stony coral, and its
job is to build up the reef
structures.
•Most corals contain an algae
called zooxanthellae within their
gastrodermal cells.This algae and
other compounds are necessary for
photosynthesis.
3. Coral Reefs
There are 3 types of reefs, fringing reefs,
barrier reefs and atolls.
•Coral Reefs are made up of stony coral
polyp skeletons and can weigh several
tons.
•Reefs are usually confined to tropical
and semitropical waters in clear, shallow
water.
•It is possible for coral reefs to grow in
deeper water, but it would grow a lot
slower.
4. Coral Reefs
• Coral reefs are important
because they are home to many
different organisms.
• Their also important to people
because these reefs estimate to
be about 172 billion dollars each
year for the protection of
shorelines and other things.
• People are also the biggest
threat to coral reefs sadly.
5. Famous Coral Reefs
• Some famous coral reefs are the
Great Barrier Reef, the Florida
Keys Reef, and the Raja Ampat
Reef.
• The largest reef in the world is
the Great Barrier Reef. It’s more
than 130,000 square miles long.
That’s bigger than the United
Kingdom and Ireland together.
•The Raja Ampat
Reef is more than
15,000 square feet
off of the coast of
Indonesia.
