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Soldiers' Home Reef was formed during the Silurian period of the Paleozoic Era, about 400 million years ago, when Wisconsin lay under a shallow tropical sea.Beneath that sea, ancient corals constructed the reef where trilobites, cephalopods, brachiopods, pelmatozoans, bivalves, and bryozoans lived and were eventually preserved as limestone.
The Cannonball Sea near Minot, North Dakota was the last of the North American interior. [136] Cenozoic marine invertebrates are best known from deposits near the coasts and tend to resemble modern forms. Solitary corals became common, but coral reefs formed only around the Gulf of Mexico. [137] Sharks were common during the Cenozoic. [138]
Coral reefs are some of the most biodiverse habitats on earth, supporting large numbers of species of corals, fish, molluscs, worms, arthropods, starfish, sea urchins, other invertebrates and algae. Because of the photosynthetic requirements of the corals, they are found in shallow waters, and many of these fringe land masses. [ 24 ]
The map of North America with the Western Interior Seaway during the Campanian. The Western Interior Seaway (also called the Cretaceous Seaway, the Niobraran Sea, the North American Inland Sea, or the Western Interior Sea) was a large inland sea that split the continent of North America into two landmasses for 34 million years.
A major concern for marine biologists is the collapse of coral reef ecosystems. [40]). An effect of global climate change is the rising sea levels which can lead to reef drowning or coral bleaching. [40] Human activity, such as fishing, mining, deforestation, etc., serves as a threat for coral reefs by affecting the niche of the coral reefs.
Reef Check is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation of two reef ecosystems: tropical coral reefs and Californian rocky reefs. The Foundation is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States, but uses data from volunteer scuba diver teams in over 80 countries, ranging from Australia, Japan, to even Germany.
Coral reefs flourish in ocean waters that provide few nutrients. They are most commonly found at shallow depths in tropical waters, but deep water and cold water coral reefs exist on smaller scales in other areas. Shallow tropical coral reefs have declined by 50% since 1950, partly because they are sensitive to water conditions. [9]
Coral reefs are important buffers between the land and water and help to reduce storm damage and coastal erosion. [2] They provide employment, recreational opportunities and they are a major source of food for coastal communities. [2] It is estimated that $375 billion dollars come from ecosystem services provided by coral reefs each year. [3]