What are Coral reefs?

Corals are invertebrate animals belonging to a large group of colourful and fascinating animals
called Cnidaria. Other animals in this group that you may have seen in rock pools or on the beach
include jelly fish and sea anemones. Although Cnidarians exhibit a wide variety of colours, shapes
and sizes, they all share the same distinguishing characteristics; a simple stomach with a single
mouth opening surrounded by stinging tentacles. Each individual coral animal is called a polyp,
and most live in groups of hundreds to thousands of genetically identical polyps that form a
‘colony’. The colony is formed by a process called budding, which is where the original polyp
literally grows copies of itself.
Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, yet they have
suffered tremendous losses due to anthropogenic disturbances and are predicted to be one of
the most adversely affected habitats under future climate change conditions. Coral reefs can be
viewed as microbially driven ecosystems that rely on the efficient capture, retention, and recycling
of nutrients in order to thrive in oligotrophic waters.

Coral Reef Bleaching

When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues
causing the coral to turn completely white. This is called coral bleaching. When a coral
bleaches, it is not dead. Corals can survive a bleaching event, but they are under more stress
and are subject to mortality.
Algae and Coral have mutual relationship. Corals gives nutrients to the algae while algae gives
off oxygen.

Coral Reef Sedimentation

Sedimentation is the accumulation of sediments, or dirt, on the reef. Sedimentation is a natural
event and results from erosion of the land and reef. Areas with high natural sedimentation rates,
such as river mouths, generally do have coral reefs.

What are the cycles affected?

Hydrologic Cycle- Increase precipitation
Carbon- Oxygen Cycle – the mutual relationship of algae and coral
Nitrogen Cycle – algae die
Phosphorus cycle – sedimentation (major reservoir rocks and ocean bottoms)
Sulfur Cycle – sedimentation (underground in rocks and minerals, Sulfate salt from the deep
under ocean sediments