FAST FACTS - Nicknamed The rainforests of the ocean due to high - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

CORAL REEFS THE RAINFORESTS OF THE OCEAN Georgina Hayes PADI SI #411108 BSc Hons. Zoology

FAST FACTS - Nicknamed “The rainforests of the ocean” due to high biodiversity - Cover less than 1% of the ocean but support 25% of all marine life - Largest structures on earth of biological origin - Close relatives of anemone and jellyfish! (Rick Stuart Smith, 2018)

TYPES OF CORAL REEF Time (Millions of years) (GBRMPA, 2017)

STRUCTURE OF CORAL (AUSMEPA.org, 2019)

HARD CORAL • The architects of coral reefs • Produces hard calcium (practicalfishkeeping.org, 2017) carbonate exoskeleton • Need zooxanthellae to survive • Shape on height depends on both species and location conditions – flat and strong vs tall and intricate (Wikimedia commons, 2007)

SOFT CORAL • Have an internal skeleton which connects to sea bed • Internal skeleton has wood (diveplanit.com 2019) like texture • Soft and bendable • Non-reef building corals referred to as ahermatypes • Do not always contain zooxanthellae (Oregon Coast Aquarium 2019)

WHAT IS CORAL BLEACHING? 19% of the worlds coral reefs have already been lost 15% is seriously threatened in the next 10-20 years (GBRMPA 2017 data) (Catlin Seaview survey 2016)

(NOAA 2018)

ADDITIONAL BLEACHING CAUSES (source unknown) (Georgina Hayes, 2018)

(The Green Fins)

(The Green Fins)

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE? • https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/corals-and-coral-reefs • https://www.livescience.com/40276-coral-reefs.html • https://coral.org/ • https://www.coraltrianglecenter.org/

ANY QUESTIONS?

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