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The Census of Coral Reefs (CReefs) is a field project of the Census of Marine Life that surveys the biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems internationally. The project works to study what species live in coral reef ecosystems, to develop standardized protocols for studying coral reef ecosystems, and to increase access to and exchange of information about coral reefs scattered throughout the globe.
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 . [ 1 ] Most coral reefs are built from stony corals , whose polyps cluster in groups.
Ecosystem services delivered by epibenthic bivalve reefs. Reefs provide coastal protection through erosion control and shoreline stabilization, and modify the physical landscape by ecosystem engineering , thereby providing habitat for species by facilitative interactions with other habitats such as tidal flat benthic communities, seagrasses and ...
It’s one of many ecosystem projects testing new ways to help corals survive. In Florida, University of Miami scientists for the first time imported corals to the U.S. that evolved in Honduras ...
[5] [14] Occurrences of high crown-of-thorns star population densities has resulted in documented decimation of large coral reef tracts, with reports of 100% coral mortality in localized areas. [2] It is estimated that one crown-of-thorns star may eat up to 6 square meters (65 sq ft) of live coral per year. [2]
The Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems (CCRE) program began with a collaborative field project conceived by six National Museum of Natural History scientists during the early 1970s. The scientists interests included a range of disciplines central to reef ecology, including: invertebrate and vertebrate zoology , botany , carbonate geology , and ...
Coral reefs thrive in nutrient-poor waters on high-energy shorelines that are agitated by waves. They are underwater ecosystem made up of colonies of tiny animals called coral polyps. These polyps secrete hard calcium carbonate skeletons that builds up over time, creating complex and diverse underwater structures. These structures function as ...
Coral reefs contain the most diverse fish assemblages to be found anywhere on earth, with perhaps as many as 6,000–8,000 species dwelling within coral reef ecosystems of the world's oceans. [ 3 ] The mechanisms that first led to, and continue to maintain, such concentrations of fish species on coral reefs has been widely debated over the last ...