CORAL REEFS

by Elissa Balram
Class: 3G
 INTRODUCTION
Corals are formed by tiny
marine animals called coral
polyps that produce a skeleton
made of limestone or calcium
carbonate. When polyps die,
new coral polyps build their
shells on top of the new shells.
This causes reefs to grow and
expand over time
There are three types of
coral reefs:
1) Fringing Reefs- Buccoo
Reef in Tobago
2) Barrier Reefs- The Great
Barrier Reef off the coast of
Australia
3) Atolls- common in the
bahamas
IMPORTANCE OF CORAL REEFS
Four ways in which coral reefs are important are:

Coral Reefs protext the coastline as they break up or

slow down wave energy to reduce coastal erosion

They are typically breeding grounds for young

fish due to the abundance of food and shelter
they provide

Coral reefs encourage tourism since

thousands of tourists visit them annually

Many coral reefs provide employment for

people living in coastal communites such as
fishermen
THREATS TO CORAL REEFS
Climate Change: Climate change causes an increase in the temperature in ocean
waters which leads to unhealthy conditions for corals to grow and thrive. This leads to
them dying.

Coral Mining: This is the action of harvesting coral for recreational or business use. This,
in turn, depletes the coral reefs of their main building blocks and leads to the depletion
of corals.

Tourism: Tourist activities such as snorkeling and boating are quite popular around
reefs. This leads to tourists damaging the reefs and even breaking off pieces of coral to
keep.
 Five ways to protect the reefs are:

1) Shop wisely. Stop buying coral as jewelry or

decorations.

2) Don't touch the corals nor anchor on the reef

3) Implement stricter rules and guidelines for tourists

as well as tour guides

PROTECTING 4) Do the three R's: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This

helps prevent the oceans from being polluted and

CORAL essentially, the corals reefs and its animals as well

5) Ensure the nutrients and chemicals being used as

REEFS fertilizers do not run-off into the ocean. This is because
the fertilizers cause algae to grow and block sunlight
from entering the ocean to corals