Coral reefs.
By: Valentina Sarria.
Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and complex habitats. They are one of the most interesting and colorful ecosystems found in the marine environment. They are very unique in many different ways and a crucial support for human life. They play also a very important role in the marine life such as giving shelter and food for millions of species including fishes, crabs, or shrimps. They support 33% of marine fish species. They also have specific and certain conditions to be formed, and to survive. They are also known as the “rainforest of the oceans” because of its huge diversity. In this research paper we will explore more about coral reefs and their importance.
Coral reefs are communities of living organisms. They are made up of fishes, plants, and many other creatures. They have been around for millions of years: less than the 0.1% of the world’s ocean floor Is covered by coral reefs, however they grow very slowly, from 0.3 cm to 10 cm per year. The reefs we see today have
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These creatures live in coral reefs for many reasons as I said before, for housing, for finding food and even for hiding from their predators. There are all types of different creatures with shining colors and surprising shapes.
As I said before, millions of species live in and around coral reefs, for example sponges have been part of this ecosystem from early on. They provide shelter for many other creatures such as fishes, crabs, and many more small animals. They have also a very big variety of shapes sizes, and colors. Sea anemones are very relatives of orals. They provide refuge for fishes and their eggs. They are known for their symbolic relation with anemone fishes and clown fishes. Anemone fishes, in return, protect the anemone from predators and they also may also remove
These animals are called polyps, and can live on their own, though tend to group up to form coral. Different groups of corals can eat different thing, depending on their size. A coral that is bigger would probably eat small fish, while a coral that is smaller might eat
Their suctions help them survive extreme changes in environment like crashing waves or tidal waves. Their digestive system allows them to eat many different types of prey or smaller animals. The ambulacral grooves help to open shells enabling sea stars to digest
The main problem that would occur is the plants would not be able to conduct photosynthesis at a rate that can support them and they would start to die off. When the plants die off the organisms that eat the plants wont have any food so they will die off and so on. The temperature of the earth would most likely drop due to the lack of sunlight exposure as well. An earthworm wouldn’t suffer a huge amount until the bacteria started to die off due to the overall imbalance of the food chain, earthworms would definitely survive the longest because their food source would be the last to die off. The sharks also would not be affected for a while because it would take time for the algae to die off from lack of sunlight and cause a chain reaction of
1. It is a scientific fact that biodiversity is greatest near coral reefs and estuaries. But because of human influence coral reefs around the world are dying. Human coastal development, pollution, ocean warming, and ocean acidification are all things that threaten them. The World Research Institute estimated that about ¾ of the worlds shallow reefs are threatened by climate change, pollution, and overfishing.
These banks contain coral rubble, seagrass and macroalgae with other invertebrate taxa, which play a key part in the ecosystem. The bank systems contain essential fish habitats, which provide sheltering and foraging grounds. Past studies have indicated these fish assemblages showed a high diversity and biomass of coral reefs. Most of the biomass in the Florida Keys ecosystem is made up of species that stay in channels for most of the day. These signs show that the bank systems are important for the FKNMS for providing a structural support and high productivity for the biodiversity.
The Great White Shark The Great White Sharks, known mostly because of their white underbellies, are one of the most powerful aquatic animals in the world. They can swim at about 25 Miles Per Hour (40 Kilometers per hour) because of their strong muscles and forceful tails. In addition to that, male Great Whites can grow around 11.5 to 13.1 feet long, while females can grow from 14.8 to 16.4 feet long. This paper will demonstrate how Great White Sharks are an important part of their ecosystem, how their diets work and will adequately describe their habitats. As predators in their ecosystem, Great White sharks help maintain the coral reefs and seagrass habitats.
Natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis can have a devastating effect on the coral in that area. The 2004 tsunami in south East Asia completely obliterated everything in its path, destroyed hundreds of ancient coral reefs (anthozoa) in these tropical waters. Many species of coral, such as the stag horn coral; a hard species of coral that branches out to look like deer antlers, are today classed as an endangered species due to the severe decrease in the corals range. How viable are the artificial coral reefs (anthozoa) in replacing the natural reef environment? What are its advantages and disadvantages?
The ocean is a giant body of water that is home to all types of fish. The ocean provides a rich environment for a plethora of animals from the tiniest of fish to the enormous whale. In the ocean, these creatures live and explore. Some of them must hunt other fish in order to survive, which means that others must try to avoid predators. Nature has provided all of these animals with a unique capability to survive.
These are seen along the coast line and waters also. Corals are made up of calcium and these acts as shelter for tiny creatures living in the mud and sand. These are used for making artificial coral reefs. [5] Ocean habitat: Open ocean habitat starts from coastal line to above the sea bed.
These fish live in the Pacific Ocean, but they are also found in the Indian Ocean, from East Africa to Micronesia, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2012). Their homes are the coral reefs that grow along the shores. These fish are very important to the lifecycle of the coral reef. They eat excess algae in the reef, which prevents the coral from suffocating (Frost 2016).
Sponges Introduction: Sponges are sessile aquatic animals of the phylum Porifera; which literally means "pore-bearing. Sponges are the simplest of multi-cellular animals. Although there are freshwater species, the great majority of sponge species are marine which could be found at various depths ranging from tidal zones to depths exceeding 8000 m. Sponges live in a wide range of oceanic habitats, from the Polar Regions to the tropics. However, most sponges live in quiet, clear waters in order to avoid the blocking of their pores by sediments stirred up by waves or a water current; that is why the greatest numbers of sponges are usually found on firm surfaces such as rocks.
Of the project, Vevers states, “We started off with coral reefs because we’ve lost 40 percent in last 30 years, and because of the effects of climate change, it’s not likely to slow down… This will give us an incredible, unprecedented baseline to measure change. These environments will be hit more and more by storms and bleaching events. It’s the recovery that is so
There are a range of biophysical processes that affect the function of marine environments. Coral reefs require abiotic and biotic factors to create a healthy and balanced ecosystem. These factors include currents, sunlight, wave actions, water temperature as well as geomorphic and atmospheric processes. Hydrologic processes like currents and sunlight work together to help algae grow, creating a food source for many organisms that live in reefs. Additionally, free-swimming coral larvae is transported to the rocks and reefs which allows coral species to grow and reefs to expand.
Barrier reefs are parallel to a shore separated from the main island by a lagoon or other body of water. An atoll, appears as a ring of coral encircling a lagoon. (Wanucha, 2017) To maintain their positions in shallow and warm waters, he proposed that coral animals could grow only in surface areas. Even when the land alongside the
(Coen et al. 2000) Resident reef fish species, use these special microhabitats created in the reef, for theis reproduction, laying eggs on the side of some shells, underside of the shells … Oyster reefs, create an special environment for fish larvae, due to the crurents created by the reef. (Coen et al. 2000) Not only fish species colonize the oyster reef, also micro-organisms and small macro-organisms species, colonize oyster shells surfaces. The oyster reef includes many food web levels.