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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Location
The Indo-Pacific region (including the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific) account for 91.9% of this total. Southeast Asia accounts for 32.3% of that figure, while the Pacific including Australia accounts for 40.8%. Atlantic and Caribbean coral reefs account for 7.6%
Photo by Kol Tregaskes
Environment
Often called "rainforests of the sea", shallow coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth.
Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters.
Photo by USFWS Pacific
Biodiversity
Reefs are home to a large variety of animals, including fish, seabirds, sponges, cnidarians (which includes some types of corals and jellyfish), worms, crustaceans (including shrimp, cleaner shrimp, spiny lobsters and crabs), mollusks (including cephalopods), echinoderms (including starfish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers), sea squirts, sea turtles and sea snakes. Aside from humans, mammals are rare on coral reefs, with visiting cetaceans such as dolphins being the main exception.
Photo by Nataraj Metz
The limiting physical factors for the occurence of corals are:
temperature
salinity
light
ocean waves and currents
Photo by FromSandToGlass
