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Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are underwater ecosystems formed from colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. They occupy less than 0.1% of the ocean but are home to 25% of marine species. Coral reefs have an estimated annual global economic value of $30-375 billion. There are several types of coral reefs including fringing reefs along shorelines, barrier reefs separated from land by lagoons, platform reefs on continental shelves, and atoll reefs that surround lagoons without central islands. Coral reefs benefit the environment and economy by absorbing wave energy, providing habitat and nutrients, acting as a food source, and attracting tourism.

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167 views

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are underwater ecosystems formed from colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. They occupy less than 0.1% of the ocean but are home to 25% of marine species. Coral reefs have an estimated annual global economic value of $30-375 billion. There are several types of coral reefs including fringing reefs along shorelines, barrier reefs separated from land by lagoons, platform reefs on continental shelves, and atoll reefs that surround lagoons without central islands. Coral reefs benefit the environment and economy by absorbing wave energy, providing habitat and nutrients, acting as a food source, and attracting tourism.

Uploaded by

Lloyd Fernandes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Coral Reefs

What is a
coral Reef?
A coral reef is an underwater
ecosystem characterized by reef-
building corals. Reefs are formed of
colonies of coral polyps held together
by calcium carbonate. Most coral
reefs are built from stony corals,
whose polyps cluster in groups.

They occupy less than 0.1% of the


world's ocean area, yet they provide a Easy to change colors,
home for at least 25% of all marine photos and Text.
species.

The annual global economic value of


coral reefs is estimated between
US$30–375 billion.
Different types of Coral Reefs
Barrier reef
Fringing reef
Barrier reefs are separated from a
A fringing reef, also called a shore reef, mainland or island shore by a deep
It usually occurs attached to a shore or channel or lagoon. They are similar to
bordering a lagoon. It is the most mature stages of fringing reef with its
common reef type. lagoon. Their formation takes much
longer and hence are rare in occurrence

Platform reef
Atoll
Platform reefs, A.K.A table reefs, can
form on the continental shelf, and Atoll reefs are a more or less circular
open ocean, the main factor required or continuous barrier reef that extends
for their formation is that the seabed all the way around a lagoon without a
should be close enough to the surface central island. They are usually formed
of the ocean this enables the growth of from fringing reefs around volcanic
zooxanthemic, reef-forming corals. islands.
Coral Reefs Benefits

Source of Nutrients Reduces wave Ecosystem Services


impact Food & Habitat
Coral reefs help in Coral reefs absorb Coral reefs provide a They are a tourist
nitrogen fixing and 97% of wave energy safe house for many attraction, a major
cycling of other thereby protecting marine species. In source of economic
nutrients. They are shorelines, they are addition they also act a benefit to several small
also a source of also cheaper to source of food islands
medicative molecules. produce than artificial
structures.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reefhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cor
1 al_reef

2 https://www.spotmydive.com/en/news/10-interesting-facts-about-corals

3 https://www.autodesk.com/redshift/biomimicry-in-architecture/

http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/microsites/biodiscovery/05human-
4 impact/importance-of-coral-reefs.html

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