Coral Reef Structure

Coral reefs are communities to the sea and home to many living creatures and different types of organisms, as well as about one-fourth of the oceans population. Coral reefs are made up of animals called polyps that will remain in one place, acting as the main structure of the reef itself, these animals have a hard almost skeleton like structure. Scientists who study coral reefs have categorized them into three different types of reefs; Barrier reefs, Atolls, and Fringing reefs. Coral reefs are put into these categories based on their size, shaped and close proximity to land. Although corals are grouped together, "An individual coral is known as a polyp, a very small and simple organism consisting mostly of a stomach topped by a tentacle-bearing
Most reefs can tolerate temperature as high a forty degrees celsius for an extended period of time. They also require large amount of salt in their water ranging from between 32-42 parts per thousand. As well as salt, they also need to be in fairly clear waters to allow light to provide energy, the deeper the coral reef goes, the less creatures are found living in them. High levels of suspended sediments can smother the colonies to death. Even though there are a large amount of coral reefs spread out over the globe when you put them together there are not very many of them. "Despite how important coral reefs are to life in the ocean, all of them in the world add up to less than one percent of the sea floor – an area about the size of France" (Defenders.org). Being such an important part of the oceans ecosystem, it's surprising that they take up such a small amount of space on the ocean floor. Light is an important factor in the growth and sustainability of these ecosystems. Without light these reefs won't be able to grow and prosper, without these reefs waves that are hitting the shores would be much higher and powerful, coral reefs provide a barrier that helps protect the large amount of energy that comes from waves. Off the north east coast of Australia lies the largest coral reef in the world, known as the "Great
Over the last few years there has also been a large rise in climate causing the oceans to heat up. The oceans heating up cause the carbon dioxide in the water to rise causing a bleaching effect on the coral, which is extremely dangerous because it prevents the coral from growing and causes them to calcify. This issue has caused many conservationist to worry about the future of reefs. According to National Geographic this is becoming a large problem because of how long it takes coral to actually mature. "That spells trouble for corals, which often take 15 years to reach sexual maturity and reproduce only once a year" (As Oceans Heat Up, a Race to Save World's Coral Reefs). National Geographic along with other programs have started many conservations and programs to help slow down the dying rate of the reefs. A biological oceanographer at the University of Miami gave this quote to National Geographic, "So a lot of our efforts are to give first aid to buy time until we can fix the problem, like CO2 [levels]. We can make a difference. It's not that hard" (As Oceans Heat Up, A Race to Save World's Coral Reefs). This just shows that with everyone's help we can all change the future of these