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Coral reef, ridge or hummock formed in shallow ocean areas by algae and the calcareous skeletons of coral polyps and other coelenterates. A coral reef may grow into a permanent coral island. Often called ‘rainforests of the sea,’ coral reefs are home to a spectacular variety of organisms.
Coral, any of a variety of invertebrate marine organisms of the class Anthozoa that are characterized by skeletons—external or internal—of a stonelike, horny, or leathery consistency. The term coral is also applied to the skeletons of those animals, particularly to those of the stonelike corals.
Coral bleaching, whitening of coral resulting from loss of symbiotic algae or degradation of the algae’s photosynthetic pigment. Bleaching is associated with the devastation of coral reefs, which are home to approximately 25 percent of all marine species.
A coral reef is a structure in shallow ocean areas that is formed mainly by stonelike coral skeletons. Corals are small marine animals that live in all oceans of the world.…
Corals live in all the oceans of the world. Some types live alone. Many types live together in groups called colonies. Several different types of corals together can form enormous colonies. These colonies are called coral reefs. The largest coral reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.
Coral reefs are best developed where the mean annual surface water temperatures are approximately 23–25 °C (73–77 °F). No significant reefs occur where such temperatures fall below about 18 °C (about 64 °F), although a few reef coral species can exist in temperatures considerably below this.
barrier reef, a coral reef (q.v.) roughly parallel to a shore and separated from it by a lagoon or other body of water. A barrier reef is usually pierced by several channels that give access to the lagoon and the island or continent beyond it.
More than one million species may inhabit coral reefs, making them as diverse as the rainforests. Corals use their tentacles to capture food such as zooplankton (animal-like forms of plankton ). Larger corals may catch small fish or other sea animals.
atoll, coral reef enclosing a lagoon. Atolls consist of ribbons of reef that may not always be circular but whose broad configuration is a closed shape up to dozens of kilometres across, enclosing a lagoon that may be approximately 50 metres (160 feet) deep or more.
platform reef, a coral reef found on continental shelves and characterized by a primarily radial growth pattern. A platform reef may or may not lie behind a barrier reef and may undergo elongation if established on a sandbank.