Coral reefs are arguably the world's most beautiful habitats.
rainforests of the oceans, because of the rich diversity of life they support. Scientists have not yet .
finished counting the thousands of different species of plants and animals that use or live in the coral .
reef. There are three types of coral reefs: fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls. Fringing reefs .
are located close to shore, separated from land by only shallow water. Barrier reefs lie farther .
offshore, separated from land by lagoons more than ten meters deep. Atolls, on the other hand, are .
formed far offshore and they make a ring-shaped reef that close a circular lagoon. Coral reefs are the .
largest biological structures on the planet, with the largest being the Great Barrier Reef covering over .
2000 kilometers along the east coast of Australia (Focus, 1995). The reef is said to be 500,000 to .
2,500,000 years old and is said to be visible from the moon.(Scientif! .
ic, 1987). There is only one problem with this beautiful structure and that is the carelessness of man. .
Silt from deforested lands and pollution from crowded coastlines choke them, and overuse by coal miners, .
fisheries, and even tourists deplete and destroy coral reefs. There are many more factors which add to .
the destruction of the coral reefs, which if not stopped it will destroy all coral reefs. .
Corals are animals, not plants, sunlight is the key to their survival. They need it to power the .
millions of microscopic algae, called zooxanthellae, that live in their tissues. The algae provides the .
corals with food and oxygen in return for raw materials and a secure place to live. This teamwork is what .
allows the reef to survive in nutrient-poor tropical seas. This relationship is sensitive to such .
changes in the environment as cloudy waters or extreme temperatures. The stress on the corals can cause .
them to expel their algae, a phenomenon known as bleaching(Futurists, 1993).
