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A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate . [ 1 ] Most coral reefs are built from stony corals , whose polyps cluster in groups.
Ocean acidification is a global threat to coral reef ecosystems. [26] Based on the biodiversity in the Coral Triangle area, damage will come to many sectors, because the coral reef is a fundamental ecosystem in the coastal area. Started by rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the calcium carbonate decrease then enhances bioerosion and ...
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, [1] [2] composed of over 2,900 individual reefs [3] and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres (1,400 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi).
Ecosystem services delivered by epibenthic bivalve reefs. Reefs provide coastal protection through erosion control and shoreline stabilization, and modify the physical landscape by ecosystem engineering, thereby providing habitat for species by facilitative interactions with other habitats such as tidal flat benthic communities, seagrasses and ...
Three-dimensional map of southern Florida showing the Florida Reef in red. The Florida Reef (also known as the Great Florida Reef, Florida reefs, Florida Reef Tract and Florida Keys Reef Tract) is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. [1]
Reefs were formed by corals living in shallow depths of water. Darwin's theory set out a sequence of coral reef formation around an extinct volcanic island, becoming an atoll as the island and ocean floor subsided. Courtesy of the US Geological Survey. When the Beagle set out in 1831, the formation of coral atolls was a scientific puzzle.
A coral skeleton from the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, Quintana Roo, Mexico The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS), also popularly known as the Great Mayan Reef or Great Maya Reef, is a marine region that stretches over 1,126 kilometres (700 mi) along the coasts of four countries – Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras – from Isla Contoy at the northern tip of the Yucatán ...
Approximately 97% of the park's area consists of sea, with more than 390 types of coral reefs decorating its seabed. The coral reefs in Bunaken are formed as part of the Indo-Pacific coral reef ecosystem, and are known as one of the highest marine biodiversity in the world. Coral Triangle: Mainly Indonesia