Coral reef ecosystems are intricate and diverse collections of species that interact with each other and the physical environment. Coral is a class of colonial animal that is related to hydroids, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
Stony corals, a type of coral characterized by their hard skeleton, are the bedrock of the reef. Stony coral colonies are composed of hundreds of thousands of individual living polyps. Polyps are capable of drawing dissolved calcium from seawater, and solidifying it into a hard mineral (calcium carbonate) structure that serves as their skeletal support. When you look at a coral colony, only the thin layer on its surface is live coral; the mass beneath is the calcium carbonate skeleton that may be decades old. Continue reading from the Environmental Protection Agency
According to the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center, coral reefs cover about 109,800 284,300 km2 or less than 0.1% of the World Ocean's total surface area. The area covered by the reefs is almost the size of Cuba or half the size of France. The largest coral reef area (about 92% of the total area) is within the Indo-Pacific region, a region comprising the Pacific, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Red Sea. Of the reefs in the Indo-Pacific, 32.3% are in Southeast Asia, while 40,8% are in the Pacific. The Caribbean and the Atlantic area accounts for about 7.6% of the world's coral reefs. Continue reading from the World Atlas
Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth. Coral reefs support more species per unit than any other marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard corals and hundreds of other species. Scientists estimate there may be millions of undiscovered species of organisms living in and around reefs. This biodiversity is considered key to finding new medicines for the 21st century. Many drugs are now being developed from coral reef animals and plants as possible cures for cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infections, viruses and other diseases.
Healthy coral reefs support commercial and subsistence fisheries as well as jobs and businesses through tourism and recreation. Approximately half of all federally managed fisheries depend on coral reefs and related habitats for a portion of their life cycles. Continue reading from the National Ocean Service
