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Coralline algae are especially important in reef construction, as they lay down calcium carbonate as calcite. Although they contribute considerable bulk to the calcium carbonate structure of coral reefs, their more important role in most areas of the reef, is in acting as the cement which binds the reef materials into a sturdy structure. [38]
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. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and ...
The classification of corals has been discussed for millennia, owing to having similarities to both plants and animals. Aristotle's pupil Theophrastus described the red coral, korallion, in his book on stones, implying it was a mineral, but he described it as a deep-sea plant in his Enquiries on Plants, where he also mentions large stony plants that reveal bright flowers when under water in ...
Reef-building stony corals (hermatypic corals) require endosymbiotic algae from the genus Symbiodinium to be in a healthy condition. [69] The loss of Symbiodinium from the host is known as coral bleaching , a condition which leads to the deterioration of a reef.
Once algae takes over and the coral can no longer sustain itself, the structures often begin to decay due to ocean acidification. [161] [160] Ocean acidification is the process by which carbon dioxide is absorbed into the ocean, this decreases the amounts of carbonate ions in the ocean, a necessary ion corals use to build their skeletons. [161 ...
Coralline means 'resembling coral' and may refer to: Coralline algae, or corallines, red algae that produce calcareous deposits; Less commonly, organisms that resemble coral, such as certain bryozoans, hydrozoans, or coralline sponges; The calcareous material in coral reefs; Coralline rock, produced by coralline algae; Something having a red ...
Algae lack the various structures that characterize plants (which evolved from freshwater green algae), such as the phyllids (leaf-like structures) and rhizoids of bryophytes (non-vascular plants), and the roots, leaves and other xylemic/phloemic organs found in tracheophytes (vascular plants).
Those with the "sprawler" type are abundant in forereefs and on coral pinnacles. [14] Being a calcareous alga, Halimeda has been found to have good potential as a carbon sink and can play an important role in regulating the ocean's carbon budget. [20] Some species such as H. opuntia have been found to produce up to 54.37 g CaCO 3 m −1 yr −1 ...