Corals

Coral Reefs

the long and short of it

Before We Start

Wonder...wonder...

wonder

1. What do you think you know about this topic?

2. What questions do you have?

3. What does the topic make you want to explore?

Corals are animals

1. What do you see?

2. What do you think about that?

What does it make you wonder?

Corals are marine animals, typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

500 million years ago,

a coral was born...

4. Coral reefs, protect parts of Florida from be submerged.

5. Medicines made coral have been used in the treatment of cancer, HIV, cardiovascular diseases and ulcers.

500 million years ago,

a coral was born...

A single polyp can live in a single shell. These types of corals are called "Solitary Corals"

This Ricordia is an example of solitary coral.

1. Coral reefs cover are home to 25% of all marine fish species.

2. 500 million people rely on coral reefs for their food and livelihoods.

6. Corals’ porous limestone skeletons have been used for human bone grafts.

7. It is estimated that coral reefs provide $375 billion per year around the world in goods and services.

500 million years ago,

a coral was born...

3. Coral reefs form natural barriers that protect nearby shorelines from the eroding forces of the sea, thereby protecting coastal dwellings, agricultural land and beaches.

500 million years ago,

a coral was born...

There are 30 of 34 known animal phyla living on the reef. About 2800 species of fish are known to live in the reef region. Of the 500 or so species of reef building corals found throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, about 350 are known to be on the Barrier Reef.

A home for everyone

Living together rocks!!

1. 70% of the world’s coral reefs will be destroyed by the year 2050.

2. 25% of coral reefs have already disappeared and an estimated two-thirds of all coral reefs are at risk today.

A rainforest

underwater

In this underwater condominium, the occupants benefit from several ecological advantages as far as their protection, nutrition, reproduction, genetic stability and respiratory requirements are concerned.

Coral reefs are the rainforest of the ocean. Its reefs quickly create new species. The biodiversity of life on the reef is comparable to the multiplicity of life forms in the rainforests.

A bleak future

Coral reefs face threats like

1. Pollution

2. Diseases

3. Over-fishing

4. Dynamite fishing

5. Sedimentation

6. Global Warming

Different

Neighbourhoods

Reefs can be classified according to how they are formed, like atolls, barrier reefs, flat reefs and fringing reefs.

The biggest barrier reefs lies in Australia - The Great Barrier Reef.

Someone destroyed

my home!

3. 88% of the reefs in Southeast Asia – the most species rich reefs on earth – are at risk.

4. Since 1975, more than 90% of the reefs in the Florida Keys have lost their living coral cover.

A bleak future

Everyone can help to save the coral reefs.

As long as we conscientiously practice our reducing, reusing and recycling, we can make a difference to the reefs.

Please help me.

A Coral Neighbourhood

When corals (dead or alive) and calcium carbonate deposits from other organisms (algae, protozoans and mollusks) group together, they form a big underwater structure called a Reef.

Finally...

Polyps can live in

condominiums

Each shell containing a single polyp can fuse together, forming a colony of several thousand individuals which can occupy an area of several square meters. They are called "Colonial Corals"

Look at this Acropora.

A polyp has a cylindrical body and its mouth is surrounded by a ring of tentacles. In fact, apart from a few small differences, it is simply a miniature anemone.

Polyps are amazing!

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