Introduction
• Coral Reefs are made of limestone
structures of dead and living stony
coral
• Coral polyps are formed by red and
green coralline algae
• Coral gets color from zooxanthellae
• Found all over the world
Animals of the Coral Reef
Anenomefish
Blacktip reef shark
Brain Coral
Carpet Anenome
Giant Clam
Parrotfish
Pharoah cuttlefish
Squarespot
Staghorn coral
Plankton
Yellow-headed jawfish
Zebra moray
Zebra shark
Etc.
Plants of the Coral Reef
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Seagrass
Seaweed
Mangroves
Sea lettuce
Algae
Zooxanthellae
Benthic diatoms
About Coral Reefs
• Water in the reef is 68° to 82°F (20° - 28°C)
• Reefs are found on eastern shores of land
• Reefs usually develop in areas with lots of
wave action because of incoming nutrients
• Waves also prevent sediment from falling on
reefs
• Reefs need calcium (calcium becomes
limestone) to form and thrive
Biotic Factors
• Animals
– Sharks, Fish, Eels, Corals, Anenomes,
Plankton, Etc.
• Plants
–Seagrasses, Seaweeds, Mangroves, Sea
Lettuce, Algae, Etc.
Abiotic Factors
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Rocks
Dead Coral
Limestone
Water
Sunlight
Temperature
pH
Etc.
Famous Locations
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Great Barrier Reef
Red Sea Coral Reef
New Caledonia Barrier Reef
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
Florida Reef
Andros Coral Reef
Zhongsha Islands
Map
• Red dots = Coral Reefs
Producers
• Photosynthetic Autotrophs
– Phytoplankton
– Coralline algae
– Filamentous turf algae
– Zooxanthellae in corals
– Seaweed
– Etc.
Prey in the Coral Reef
• Consumers (primary and secondary)
– Zooplankton
– Invertabrate larvae
– Benthic grazers
– Few corals
– Few crabs
– Sea urchins
– Green sea turtles
– Herbivorous fish
– Plankton feeders
– Corallivores
– Benthic invertebrate feeders
– Piscivores
– Etc.
Predators
• Carnivores (secondary and tertiary consumers)
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Plankton feeders
Corallivores
Benthic invertebrate feeders
Piscivores
Sharks
Barracudas
Moray eels
(If present): Dolphins, Seals, Sea birds
Food Chains
• Zooxanthellae (on coral) ->
Corallivores -> Parrotfish -> Moray
eels
• Zooplankton -> Fish (ex: triggerfish) > Piscivores -> Seals -> Sharks
• Seaweed -> Parrotfish -> Snappers
Pictures of Coral Reefs
Videos of Coral Reefs
Interesting Facts
• Make up about 0.2% of total area on Earth
• House tens of thousands of marine
species
• Usually located at a depth of 150 feet
• Deepest locations at a depth of 450 feet
• One of the settings of Pixar’s Finding
Nemo