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Coral reefs are developed by the carbonate-based skeletons of a variety of animals and algae. Slowly and over time, the reefs build up to the surface in oceans. Coral reefs are found in shallow, warm salt water. The sunlight filters through clear water and allows microscopic organisms to live and reproduce. [4]
Japanese navy then researched the surrounding area and found the rock and named it as Hyūga shou, meaning Hyuga reef, after the ship. [1] Chinese name Rìxiàng Jiāo, meaning Rixiang reef, is the Chinese pronunciation of its Japanese name. On December 19, 2007, Korean side changed the name to Gageo Reef, named after the nearby island.
While it covers only 1.6% of the planet's oceanic area, the region has 76% of all known coral species in the world. As a habitat for 52% of Indo-Pacific reef fishes and 37% of the world's reef fishes, it contains the greatest diversity of coral reef fishes in the world [17] More than 3,000 species of bony fish are distributed over more than 90% of the Coral Triangle.
The Amazon Reef (also referred to as the Amazonian Reef) is an extensive coral and sponge reef system, located off the coast of French Guiana and northern Brazil. It is one of the largest reef systems in the world known to exist, with scientists estimating its length to be over 600 miles (970 km) long, and covering over 3,600 square miles ...
Coral reef in the national park. Located in the Asia-Pacific World Coral Triangle, in the province of Southeast Sulawesi, the Wakatobi Islands offer clear waters and a rich bio-diverse underwater life. Wakatobi hosts 942 fish species and 750 coral reef species (of 850 globally), versus 50 in the Caribbean and 300 in the Red Sea. [4]
The northernmost coral reef on Earth is located near Eilat, Israel. [66] Coral reefs are rare along the west coasts of the Americas and Africa, due primarily to upwelling and strong cold coastal currents that reduce water temperatures in these areas (the Humboldt, Benguela, and Canary Currents, respectively). [67]
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, roughly 75% of the world's tropical coral reefs experienced severe enough heat to trigger bleaching between 2014 and 2017. It is a global phenomenon, with just 2% of Indo-Pacific reefs containing as much live coral as they did in the 1980s. [2]
Mangrove area has declined worldwide by more than one-third since 1950, [65] and 60% of the world's coral reefs are now immediately or directly threatened. [ 66 ] [ 67 ] Human development, aquaculture, and industrialization often lead to the destruction, replacement, or degradation of coastal habitats.