Great Barrier Reef Research Paper

The Ocean is a miraculous place filled to the brim with foreign creatures and wondrous wildlife. From the Great Orcas of the Antarctic waters to the minuscule plankton, these marine life conquer the ocean's depths, but it's not just the creatures that reside here. Coral occupy their fair share of space upon the ocean's floor filling the waters with their glamour and residential charm for those in search of shelter.

Coral reefs are the most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. There are more than 25,000 known species of organisms and countless others that have yet to be identified (Helvarg, 2000). Reefs thrive on the shallow edge of tropical seas, most often on the eastern edge of continents along warm water currents that brush the coasts. Reefs cannot live in cold waters and are limited by ocean depth and available sunlight. Coral is the foundation of the reef community, providing a three-dimensional structure where thousands of species of vertebrates and invertebrates live and feed. Some species of coral are hard, while others soft. Some are branched, yet others are compact and rounded. Coral is made up of large

that they require to survive. The sea creatures that depends on feeding off of sea plants will now

C: Even though an abundance of research is being conducted by scientists in order to help save the coral reef, their efforts seem to be getting nowhere due to the ignorance of people who do not know how bad the problem truly is. E: Scientists are currently using Google Maps technology to take pictures of the reefs to showcase the severity of the problem (Chasing Coral). A: This makes pictures of the reef’s condition accessible to anyone anywhere on earth, therefore making education about the reef more accessible. E: NOAA is transforming the ways reefs are researched by using satellites to detect where bleaching is occurring and at what level (Chasing Coral). A: By doing this, NOAA is providing useful information to scientists

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem. This reef is located off of the coast of Queensland, Australia in the Coral Sea. The system is made up of about 2,900 individual reefs. It is the worlds biggest single structure made of living organisms. This reef system is so large it can be seen from outer space!

What is a coral reef? How are they created? Well a coral reef is a ridge of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of coral. Corals are tiny animals which belong to the group of other cnidarians include hydras, jellyfish, and sea anemones. Corals are sessile animals, meaning they are not mobile but stay fixed in one place. They feed by reaching out with tentacles to catch prey such as small fish and planktonic animals. Corals live in colonies consisting of many individuals. They secrete a hard calcium carbonate skeleton, which serves as a uniform base or substrate for the colony. The skeleton also provides protection, as the polyps can contract into the structure if predators approach. It is these hard skeletal structures that build

Known as the rainforest of the ocean, corals are beyond vital for our oceans and for our Earth as a whole. Corals supply a variety of sea life species with food, shelter, and protection which affect our ecosystem including humans. However, these vital creatures are being negatively affected by natural and human caused disasters. These disasters include, temperature and acidity fluctuations, run off, known as pollution, storms, and overfishing. These disasters are what cause coral bleaching. The extent of coral bleaching is only increasing and we must preserve corals before they become extinct. However, the coral that has already been bleached by these disasters are not completely hopeless. There is a possibility to reverse coral bleaching if watched and treated carefully.

Coral reefs are diverse marine ecosystems that provide habitats to a wide range of organisms (Mulhall 2009). Today, they are faced with the largest threat to their existence since the 200-300 million years ago in which they first emerged on Earth (Mulhall 2009). Since coral ecosystems are in rapid decline, sustaining these ecosystems is becoming a viable goal for both national and international organizations as an increasing number of nations across the world are being affected by their degradation (Mulhall 2009). Although initiatives are being taken to preserve coral ecosystems, the global society must continue to take more effective measures in order to preserve the world’s reefs and ensure that the benefits and

The spectacular and silicate coral reefs of Australia, Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Pico are ecological gems and important economic resources. Often called "rainforests of the sea" for their rich biodiversity, the coral on which these diverse ecosystems are based are actually living organisms themselves. They form when polyps -the living portion of stony corals-extract calcium from seawater and combine it with carbon dioxide to construct the elaborate limestone skeletons that form the reef.

A coral reef is an area made up of many living organisms. Coral reefs are home to approximately 25% of all marine life. Creatures which live in coral reefs include: slugs, oysters, clams, crabs, urchins, jellyfish, and many types of fish. These creatures need sunlight to live, which results in them being found in shallow ocean waters. Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coral reefs are mostly made of calcium carbonate. The three main types of coral reefs around the world are: Barrier Reefs, Atolls, and Fringing Reefs.

Tropical Coral reefs are one of the most fundamentally important ecosystems on the planet, maintaining an impressive array of diversity able to boast thousands of species with many only found within their unique reef system. Reefs play a vital role shaping ecosystems and providing shelter and refuge for many populations’. These reef systems are found throughout the tropics with the majority found within the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn and found worldwide from the Caribbean to Australia. Reef systems are not only a hub of diversity it’s a vital source of nutriment for thousands of people with more than 15% of global population living within 100 kilometres of reef systems (Hoegh-Guldberg, 1999).

Coral reefs occupy only 0.2% of the ocean floor, yet they are the most biologically diverse marine ecosystems known today, and support over 25% of all marine organisms (Yip). Due to the massive amount of marine species that populate coral reef habitats, maintaining healthy reefs is crucial for the continuation of marine biodiversity. In past years, the increase of mortality rates in coral has been caused by a number of factors, including wide-spread stress and disease. In the Indo-Pacific, coral reefs have been declining at a rate of approximately 2% per year for the last 20 years (Yip). Coral reef fish biodiversity is crucial for the sustainability of the coral reef ecosystem, as well as for the ability of the coral reefs to provide services to the ecosystem (Ehrenfeucht). Such services include coral reef fisheries and the tourism industry.

     Coral reefs are one of the oldest types of living systems on earth, and certainly one of the most spectacular (Goreau, 1987). They are massive underwater structures formed by the limestone skeletons of tiny invertebrate animals. Reefs house a greater diversity of body forms, chemistry, and animal phyla (thirty-two compared to the eight that inhabit the most biodiversity ecosystems on land). Phyla comprise the second largest category of living things, after kingdoms.

The effects of Co2 emissions over the years have greatly impacted the way coral reefs thrive in certain parts of the ocean. To understand why coral reefs are dying throughout the oceans it is imperative to first see what a coral is and what it is composed of. Corals are oceanic invertebrates which fall into the phylum Cnidaria. Corals reefs mostly consist of shells made of aragonite, which is the crystallized form of CaCo3. Small algae called zooxanthellae helps the corals with the vibrant colors they are known for. Coals are one of the most inhabitable species found because of what they can be composed of. For example, one species that make up the coral reefs are sea anemone. Sea Anemones are chemically composed of a poison in their tentacles that fire viciously into their victims penetrating them with a paralyzing neurotoxin. Clownfish, however, had a mucus-like layer that protects them from the poison and is able to make a home out of the anemone. There is so much life that is brought by coral reefs. There can be a plethora of symbiotic relationships found in coral reefs.

Coral reefs are home to millions of species. These species are what keeps the coral reefs so biodiverse. The range of life in coral reefs are from micro-organisms we can’t see without a microscope to whale sharks the size of a school bus. Plants in coral reefs include algae, seagrass and zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae is the algae that lives in invertebrates in the sea like corals and jellyfish. Algae is found on all corals and seagrass is found mostly at the seafloor. The animals in coral reefs differ in many ways and each of the species is unique.