Coral Reefs

The most amazing features of tropical oceans are its beautiful and fragile coral reefs.

What is a coral reef?

World wide, coral reefs cover 600,000 square miles and are home to over 500,000 species!

A reef is a coral community consisting of several thousand organisms living together. Although it looks like a dormant underwater bush, the reef is very much alive. Reefs grow very slowly over time. In fact, an inch of coral reef takes nearly 100 years to grow!

There are many threats to coral reefs. These include unsustainable fishing practices (using cyanide and dynamite), and pollution.

Disclaimer