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Coral Reefs are one of the worlds most beautiful habitats. They are often called the rainforests of the ocean, because they support such a diversity of life. They are massive underwater structures formed by the limestone skeletons of tiny invertebrate animals. These beautiful underwater structures are the largest and most diverse biological structures on earth, take thousands to years to form, yet they are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Coral Reefs are built by accumulated skeletons of tiny animals which are mostly corals and plants. These plants are mostly coralline algae.
They are built near the surface in tropical seas. When sunlight reaches the appropriate area, corals will start to grow. Over the years coral builds a reef that fringes the shoreline. This is called a fringing reef. Fringing reefs are separated from the land only by shallow water. If a reef grows farther from land, it is a barrier reef.
These reefs are separated from the land by a larger lagoon. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest biological structure on earth covering over 2000 kilometers on the east coast of Australia. Atolls, on the other hand, are formed far offshore and they make a ring-shaped reef that close a circular lagoon. Occasionally a coral reef is lifted from the water making it a coral island. The corals are made up of tiny organisms called polyps that grow together to produce the skeletons. Polyps are made up of two cell layers, the epidermis and the gastro dermis.
They contain mesentery filaments to capture food, a pharynx and the columella which is found below the mouth. It is surrounded by a ring of tentacles which it uses to catch food floating in the water. Corals also get their food from single-celled plants called symbiotic algae which makes food from sunlight. The skeletal wall that surrounds the polyp is called a theca. There are two types of coral. The perforate have porous skeletons with connections between the polyps and the imperforate have solid skeletons.
Corals have branches and looks just like plants and grow very slowly. If they are broken or killed by pollution, it will take the reef many years to recover. Algae is the plant that makes most of the food for coral reefs. Algae have stony skeletons, just as corals, and are as important as corals in building the reef. It helps cement the coral skeletons together to make the reef strong and forms a ridge where waves break to protect the corals. The ecosystem of the coral reef is very efficient with numerous types of plants, marine animals and fish crowded together.
Reefs are efficient at recycling food and nutrients with each species playing its specific role. Many different organisms, including mollusks, sponges, and worms, help shape reefs, but hard corals and various algae are the major architects. Reef-building organisms cannot thrive if the surrounding water changes significantly. Coral reefs require very specific conditions in order to grow: a solid structure for the base is very important.
The ecosystem must have a stable environment. The water cannot change much in temperature or quality. If the stability is disturbed it could take many years for the reef to recover, or it could die completely. While a coral reef takes thousands of years to build, it can be destroyed in a short amount of time. Natural events such as hurricanes and tropical storms can turn a coral reef into rubble. Diseases also affect coral.
The black-band disease kills polyps. Certain starfish feed on coral and can kill it in only a few weeks. The greenhouse effect, which causes temperature increases in the sea and is changing ocean current patterns also damages coral reefs since they can only thrive in a stable temperature. Coral is also destroyed when it is collected and made into jewelry and other decorations, and some countries mine coral from the reefs to make roads, build houses, or make lime.
All of these factors are responsible for damage to coral reefs. When corals experience stress, much of the symbiotic algae that provides it with nutrients are removed from the coral tissue. Coral bleaching is a symptom of this stress. With the algae gone, the transparent tissue of the animal polyp becomes invisible and only the white calcium carbonate skeleton of the reef is exposed. After coral bleaching, the coral that was once colorful and vibrant becomes chalky white. The stress that causes much of the coral bleaching is elevated ocean temperatures caused by global warming.
During an El Nino event in 1982 - 1983 up to 70 - 90 % of corals off the coasts of Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia died due to the warmer water (Richmond 1993). The coral reefs need to be preserved. They are beneficial to mankind. They yield about one-tenth of all fish caught for human consumption.
Coral reefs also hold the potential to have untapped medicines. Coral has already been found to have a medicine that can be used for a disease for the nervous system, and a natural sunscreen has been found in the coral. Promising testing is being done on other reef organisms to generate chemicals for cancer and AIDS research. Everyone must work together to stop the pollution and the destruction of our coral reefs and our environment. It is not just one thing that is destroying the reefs; it is many factors together that are destroying it. In conclusion, coral reefs are some of the most useful resources on the planet.
We count on them for many things and they will play a major role in the future of mankind. They are sometimes called, as stated previously, rainforests of the ocean. However, the same that is happening to rain forests is happening to coral reefs: Depletion. It must be stopped or else future generations will never see these rainforests of the ocean.
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Research essay sample on Coral Reefs Coral Bleaching
