Threats to the World's Coral Reefs

Corals are organisms called polyps. The polyps have a hard skeleton at their base called calicle. A polyp attaches itself to a rock and multiplies to form a colony. The calicles of the polyps attach to each other and they behave as a single organism. The colonies keep extending and unite with other colonies Thus reefs are formed. They are formed in shallow waters. A coralline alga called zooxanthellae and the corals share a mutual relationship- the algae provides the corals with nutrients, which in turns finds protection in the coral reef. It took millions of years to form some of the major reefs The major coral reefs of the world are the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, the Belize Barrier Reef, Mexico, the Red Sea coral reef off the coast of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the New Caledonia Barrier Reef, and the Pulley Ridge Reef off the Florida coast..

Coral reefs are central to biodiversity as they enable nutrient cycling by the corals, the algae, and other organisms. This is very crucial as the seawater has very little nutrients to offer. Fishes like parrotfish, angelfish, butterfly fish, fronts, wrasses, groupers, and other creatures like sponges, jellyfish, worms, shrimps, lobsters, crabs, mollusks, starfish, sea turtles, squirts, sea snakes, and sea cucumbers inhabit coral reefs. Some of these animals eat the corals too. Research is being done on the ability of some of these animals to cure cancer, arthritis, and infections. They are vital for the tourism industry. They prevent soil erosion.