Global Environment Unit 1ip

CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM

SCIE210-1204B-08

Environmental Science

Teresa Fisher

American InterContinental University

ABSTRACT

Coral Reefs are one of the most interesting and colorful ecosystem to be found in the marine environment. Environmentalists are saying that coral reefs are disappearing due to the atmosphere changing and human behavior. This article will talk about how the Abiotic and biotic components work together to make and keep coral reefs. Coral reefs are a very important part in our everyday lives and we need to find a way to stop them from disappearing.

CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM

Coral Reefs are ecological systems that are made up of hard and soft corals. Corals are layers of calcium carbonate put together over time by many soft bodied animals called coral polyps. You have two different kinds of corals; hard (rigid exoskeleton fish) and soft (no exoskeleton fish) (Reef Relief, 2010). Coral reefs form in shallow water that is clear and is between seventeen and thirty degrees Celsius (Coral Algal Reef, 2000). The largest coral reef is on the northeastern coast of Australia and is call the Great Barrier Reef (Coral Reef, 2005).

The structure of the coral reef ecosystem consists of Abiotic and biotic components. The Abiotic features are non living things such as water temperature, sunlight, oxygen, nutrients and salinity (salt). The biotic components are crabs, lobsters, sea horses, sponges, worms (which get protection from other predators or live in the coral reef); manatees, birds, and other fish (which feed off of the coral reef), all of these animals have a purpose with the coral reef.

Coral reef ecosystems are very unique, biologically diverse systems recognized as a valuable environmental resource. Coral reefs eat the plankton in the water, which keeps it clean. The animals that live in or around the reef stay protected from other predators. The coral reef is like a rain forest; the forest cannot survive when the trees are gone and the reef...