what are coral reefs geography

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What is the best coral reef in the world?

‘The branching corals act as a nursery for the smaller fish but we’ve also got so much marine life, ranging from smaller species to larger ones such as sharks, so we’ve got predator life too,’ she says. ‘And you need all of these things.’ Mariyam, a certified rescue diver and freediver, believes that locals make the best advocates.

What is the best coral reef?

• Speeding up nature. Selective breeding that carries on desirable traits from parents. ...
• A novel idea. In 2015, Ruth Gates, who launched the resilience lab, and Madeleine van Oppen of the Australian Institute of Marine Science published a paper on assisted evolution during ...
• Millions of years in the making. ...
• Major hurdles. ...

Which is the largest coral reef in the world?

Where are the top 3 largest coral reefs in the world?

• Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
• Red Sea Coral Reef, Israel, Egypt and Djibouti.
• New Caledonia Barrier Reef, South Pacific.
• MesoAmerican Barrier Reef, Atlantic Ocean.
• Florida Reef, Florida.
• Andros Coral Reef, Bahamas.
• Saya Del Malha, Indian Ocean.

What is the life span of a coral reef?

With a lifespan of up to 5,000 years, they are also the longest living animal! So then how old are the oldest coral reefs? And why do they last (and live) so long? The Oldest Coral Reef. The oldest coral reef made up of multiple organisms is named Chazy Reef, which is off the coast of the Isle La Motte in Lake Champlain, Vermont.

What are coral reefs GCSE geography?

What is a coral reef? Coral reefs form at depths not exceeding 25 metres, and need warm water between 20 to 28 degrees Celsius. Reefs grow faster in clear water that allows sunlight to penetrate. A coral reef is made up of millions of coral polyps. These are tiny animals, but they contain plants called algae.

What are coral reefs in simple words?

Coral reefs are made up of colonies of hundreds to thousands of tiny individual corals, called polyps. These marine invertebrate animals have hard exoskeletons made of calcium carbonate, and are sessile, meaning permanently fixed in one place.

What are reefs in geography?

A reef is a ridge of material at or near the surface of the ocean. Reefs can occur naturally. Natural reefs are made of rocks or the skeletons of small animals called corals. Reefs can also be artificial—created by human beings.

What are coral reefs answer?

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups.

How do you explain coral reefs to kids?

A coral reef is made up of thousands of tiny animals called coral polyps. Some coral polyps are hard, like brain coral and Elkhorn coral, while other corals, like sea fans and carnation coral, are soft. These thousands of animals all live together in a small area.

What are coral reefs and why are they important?

Coral reefs protect coastlines from storms and erosion, provide jobs for local communities, and offer opportunities for recreation. They are also are a source of food and new medicines. Over half a billion people depend on reefs for food, income, and protection.

How coral reef is formed?

Coral reefs begin to form when free-swimming coral larvae attach to submerged rocks or other hard surfaces along the edges of islands or continents. As the corals grow and expand, reefs take on one of three major characteristic structures — fringing, barrier or atoll.

Where are the coral reefs located?

Coral reefs are found in shallow water where sea surface temperatures range from 68° F to 97° F. More than 90 percent of the world's coral reefs occur in the Indo-West Pacific biogeographic region. Reef systems also can be found in the West Atlantic, East Atlantic, and East Pacific oceans between 30° N and 30° S.

What is the coral reef made of?

calcium carbonate Coral polypsA coral reef is made of thin layers of calcium carbonate Coral polyps form a living mat over a calcium carbonate skeleton. Stony corals (or scleractinians) are the corals primarily responsible for laying the foundations of, and building up, reef structures.

What are corals in geography class 9?

Corals are short-lived microscopic organisms which live in colonies. They flourish in shallow mud-free and warm waters. They secrete calcium carbonate.

What are coral reefs Class 9?

Coral reefs are the colonies of tiny living creatures that are found in oceans. They are the underwater structures that are formed of coral polyps that are held together by calcium carbonate.

What are corals Byjus?

Coral is a class of colonial animal that is related to hydroids, jellyfish, and sea anemones. It is made up of thousands of tiny animals called polyps. Corals also provide habitat for a large variety of marine life, including various sponges, oysters, clams, crabs, sea stars, sea urchins, and many species of fish.

What are the features of a coral reef?

The accumulations of carbonate sand and mud provide a habitat for sea grasses and mangroves and for almost inconspicuous blue-green algal mats. These plants and algae trap and stabilize sediment, and their accumulations are also accreted to the whole reef complex. Storms and surf heap up fragmental material into beaches and shoals, and the shoals may develop into low sandy or rubbly islets or cays on top of the reef.

How are coral reefs formed?

Coral reef, ridge or hummock formed in shallow ocean areas by algae and the calcareous skeletons of certain coelenterates, of which coral polyps are the most important. A coral reef may grow into a permanent coral island.

Why do coral reefs shape?

The shape of coral reefs, while at least in part due to the tendency of reef builders to grow upward and outward toward the prevailing winds and currents, is also the result of changes of sea level during the last 2,000,000 years or more.

How deep can coral grow?

Reef-building corals, chiefly the stony corals or Scleractinia, grow best in shallow sunlit water, between the low-water mark and a depth of 11 metres (36 feet), but they can still construct reefs in water as deep as 40 metres (about 130 feet), and they may have a sparse existence between 40 and 55 metres (130 and 180 feet).

What is the maximum temperature for coral reefs?

These corals prefer water of normal salinity with an annual maximum temperature above 22 °C (72 °F) but below 28 °C (about 82 °F). Their reef-building activities, however, may be carried on in waters whose minimum temperature in winter is not less than 15 °C (59 °F).

Where is the largest coral reef in the world?

Often called the “rainforests of the sea,” coral reefs are home to a spectacular variety of organisms. The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, is the world's largest coral reef.

What are the organisms that bind and cement coral?

Other organisms, especially algae and protozoans, bind and cement everything together with sheetlike growth.

What are coral reefs?

When you look at a coral reef, you might think that you are seeing a group of colourful rocks. But don’t be mistaken! Reefs are actually made out of living creatures called coral.

Where are coral reefs found?

Coral reefs can be found all over the world! However, most coral reefs grow in shallow, clean ocean waters on either side of the Equator, because they need sunlight and warm temperatures all year to survive.

Life in coral reefs

Lots of different types of sea creatures call coral reefs their home – giant clams, starfish, sea turtles, seahorses, eels, cuttlefish and many, many more. The reefs provide this diverse range of animals with everything they need, including food and shelter.

Why are coral reefs endangered?

The biggest threats to coral reefs are pollution spilling into the oceans, damage from ships and boats, and climate change, which makes the water warmer and more acidic.

Save our coral reefs!

To save our coral reefs, many people are working hard to clean up the pollution on land and in the sea. Some countries have even protected their coral reefs.

What is a coral reef made of?

A coral reef is made up of millions of coral polyps. These are tiny animals, but they contain plants called algae. The algae convert sunlight into energy for the reef itself. The coral polyps make hard calcium carbonate which builds up over thousands of years to form reefs.

Why are coral reefs important?

Coral reefs are one of the most important ecosystems in the world, and have been called 'the rainforests of the sea' owing to the diverse range of plants and animals that they support. Although they cover less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface, they provide a home for at least 25% of all marine species.

What is the largest coral reef?

Barrier Reef: The largest coral reefs off the coastal platforms but parallel to them are called barrier reefs (fig. 30.2). Barrier reefs are the largest, most extensive, highest and widest reefs of all types of coral reefs. The average slope is about 45° but some barrier reefs are character­ized by 15°-25° slope.

How far away is the reef from the coast?

The north­ern and the southern parts of this reef are 80 miles (128 km) and 7 miles (11km) away from the coast the reef from the Coast Ranges between 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 km). The depth of lagoon between the coast and the reefs is 40 fathoms (240 feet) whereas the width ranges between 7 to 80 miles (11 km to 128 km).

What is the lagoon between a fringing reef and a land?

Though fringing reefs are usually attached to the coastal land but sometimes there is gap between them and land and thus lagoon is formed between the fringing reef and the land. Such lagoon is called boat channel. Coral reefs are generally long but narrow in width.

How deep is a lagoon?

There is a lagoon in the middle of coral ring. The depth of lagoon ranges between 40 to 70 fathoms (240 to 420 feet). Atolls are divided into 3 types e.g.: (i) True atoll characterized by circular reef enclosing a shallow lagoon but without island,

What is an atoll?

Atoll: A ring of narrow growing corals of horseshoe shape and crowned with palm trees is called atoll (fig. 30.3). It is generally found around an island or in elliptical form on a submarine platform. There is a lagoon in the middle of coral ring. The depth of lagoon ranges between 40 to 70 fathoms (240 to 420 feet).

Where is the Great Barrier Reef located?

Great Barrier Reef, located parallel to the east coast of Australia, is the largest of all the barrier reefs of the world. This reef is located between 9°S to 22°S latitudes and stretches for a length of 1200 miles (1920 km) and thus covers about two-third of the coastal length of Queensland province of Australia.

Is a coral reef long or narrow?

Coral reefs are generally long but narrow in width. ADVERTISEMENTS: The continuity of coral reefs is broken wherever rivers drain into the seas and oceans. Coral reefs are basically of two types e.g.: (i) Coral reefs facing open ocean, and. (ii) Coral reefs protected by a barrier.

What Are Coral Reefs?

Where Are Coral Reefs Found?

• Coral reefs can be found all over the world! However, most coral reefs grow in shallow, clean ocean waters on either side of the Equator, because they need sunlight and warm temperatures all year to survive. Some famous coral reefs include the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Amazon Reef in Brazil and French Guiana, the Tubbataha Reef in the Ph...

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Life in Coral Reefs

Why Are Coral Reefs Endangered?

Save Our Coral Reefs!