CORAL REEFS

DESCRIPTION:

• A diverse ecosystem
• Built by strong corals, which consist of polyps
• that cluster in a group

WHAT LIVES IN CORAL REEFS

• Starfish, baby coral, fish
• Turtles, sharks, eels, crabs
• Shrimp, urchins, sponges, &algae

WHAT TS LIKE TO LIVE THERE

• Warm, shallow, sunny, and clear water
• Depending what you are there are predators or prey
• Plenty of shelter to hide
• Plenty of food

BIOTIC FACTORS

• Plants and bacteria
• Detrivores which consume dead or decaying plants
• Phytoplankton, algae and seaweed

ABIOTIC FACTORS

• Temperature & Sunlight
• Viscosity & light penetration
• Buoyancy gases & water density

WHERE CAN YOU FIND CORAL REEFS?

• The Great Barrier Reef
• In underwater peaks called seamounts
• In tropical waters
• Usually shallow water

DOMINANT ANIMALS

• Fish, Sea Snakes
• Manatees, Mollusks
• Shrimp
• Eels
• Turtles

DOMINANT PLANTS

• Sponges
• All kinds of Algae
• Sea grass
• Echinoderms

DESCRIBE THE HABIT

• There is plenty of coral for small animals to hide
• Attracts lots of fish so predators are interested
• Algae attracts smaller fish and animals
• Provides opportunites for tourists- which can
• Cause damage to reefs

POSITIVE IMPACTS BY HUMANS

• Create reefs to help support the marine life

NEGATIVE IMPACTS BY HUMANS

• Humans pollute the ocean
• Over fishing
• Digging canals through reefs
• Taking off coral from reefs

FUTURE PROBLEMS

• Polluting and killing animals will lead to extinction
• Shade will cause the water to get colder killing the marine animals

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VIDEO:

WORKS CITED

• http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef
• http://ocean.si.edu/corals-and-coral-reefs