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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 ...
Herbivores feed on plants. The four largest groups of coral reef fishes that feed on plants are the parrotfishes, damselfishes, rabbitfishes, and surgeonfishes. All feed primarily on microscopic and macroscopic algae growing on or near coral reefs. Algae can drape reefs in kaleidoscopes of colours and shapes.
Coral reef farming involves extracting a part of a coral colony or free-floating larvae from a reef, and growing them in a nursery until outplanting [5] would be successful. It is commonly referred to as the "gardening method" and has been compared to silviculture as a management practice that mimics natural ecosystems.
It is claimed by scientists that over 40% of Belize's coral reef has been damaged since 1998. [1] The Belize Barrier Reef has been affected by mass-bleaching events. The first mass bleaching occurred in 1995, with an estimated mortality of 10 percent of coral colonies, according to a report by the Coastal Zone Management Institute in Belize.
Coral reefs are some of the most biodiverse habitats on earth, supporting large numbers of species of corals, fish, molluscs, worms, arthropods, starfish, sea urchins, other invertebrates and algae. Because of the photosynthetic requirements of the corals, they are found in shallow waters, and many of these fringe land masses. [ 24 ]
To Thuhufa, coral bleaching is one of the most pressing issues for the islands and “something the whole world is experiencing.” The last mass bleaching event, which occurred between 2014 and ...
Further out to sea on the edge of the Florida Straits is the second ridge forming the outer reefs, covered by reefs and hard banks composed of coral rubble and sand. [ 5 ] Almost 1,400 species of marine plants and animals, including more than 40 species of stony corals and 500 species of fish, live on the Florida Reef.