CORAL REEF

Coral Reef



Table of Contents

What are Coral Reefs?3

Types of Coral Reefs4

1.Fringing reefs or marginal4

2.Barrier Reef4

3.Coral reefs bank4

4.The double gates4

5.The atoll5

6.The bench coral reef5

5 lesson plans for Coral Reef5

1) Coral Reef Formation5

2) How do corals reproduce?7

3) Threats to Coral Reef7

Pollution by Oil8

Tourism8

4) How do corals eat?9

5) Importance of Coral Reef9

Coral Reefs and Climate10

Coral reefs and sustainable development11

Economic, social, environmental and developmental benefits of protecting coral reefs11

Coral Reefs

What are Coral Reefs?

Coral reefs are a submarine geomorphologic feature found worldwide in tropical waters that provide habitat for thousands of species and invaluable resources for humanity. They routinely distributed between latitudes 30 °N and 30° S. Coral reefs build in water temperatures that range from ~20 to ~30 °C and exist in clear waters with little to no suspended sediment or dissolved organic materials. Coral reefs also tend to be located at the western edge of ocean basins. The coral organisms that build reef structures are individual invertebrates that live in symbiosis with algae organisms known as zooxanthellae. As these distinctive corals grow, they produce a calcium carbonate (CaCO3) shell. Empty coral shells are the primary building material from which coral reefs formed. Coral reefs are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems worldwide, but the abundance of key species and habitat builders have declined globally due to human activities.

Though reefs typically face prevailing threats, different patterns of humane activities and environmental conditions have led to regional differences in the trajectories, timing and extent of degradation over time. These regional differences highlight the need for in-depth case studies to understand the factors that contribute to either ecosystem resilience and sustainability or decline and collapse. Restoring ecological resilience requires understanding long term trends (decades to centuries) in resource and ecosystem conditions and characterizing the complex ways that societies have mediated environmental outcomes in the past [5,6,7,8], neither of which well known for any coral reef ecosystem in the world. Although corals account for the majority of the infrastructure and the mass of a coral reef, the organisms most responsible for reef growth against the constant harassment of ocean waves are the calcareous algae, species of red algae. Corals do not perform photosynthesis but live in a symbiotic relationship with microscopic algae that conduct photosynthesis (Hatcher & Johannes, 1989).

Types of Coral Reefs

Coastal reefs located right at sea level or just below its surrounding islands in shallow water. Represent a narrow terrace, starting from the edge of the coast, and terminates at some distance.

Fringing reefs or marginal - This type of non-littoral reef surrounds a reef. Often separated from the coast by a lagoon or narrow body of water and little deep, whose bottom covered with calcareous sands and underwater grasses. This type of reef is one of the most common in Puerto Rico, but for its proximity to the coast itself, also will that been degraded by physical activity.

Barrier Reef - The reef of this kind occur more separated from the coast. In Puerto Rico represented by a reef structure located on the edge ...