Coral ReefsAround the WorldBy: Taran Kanabar

Table of Contents

What?

Where?

What is a coral reef?A coral reef is an underwater structure

made up of rocks and calcium carbonate. If the coral is alive then fish will almost always live in them as they afford them protection. An example of this mutualism is the sea anemone and the clown fish. The sea anemone has stinging tentacles which will easily kill many fish. Clownfish have adapted to it by having a protective slime around them. Clownfish make their nests inside the anemone so they are always protected from their enemies.

Where are Coral Reefs?Coral reefs can be located all over the

world. The biggest and most famous coral reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef. It is located in Australia. They are mostly in tropical climates.

AnimalsMany animals in coral reefs use mutualism to help them in their lives. Some of the species protect each other and others use the coral and sea-plants for protection.

Clown fish: Clown fish have adapted to their environment by having a slimy substance around their skin so that they are not stung by sea anemones.

Sea Tortoise: This species has adapted to the reefs by always burying its eggs under the sand. This incubates the eggs and keeps them safe from predators. However when they hatch only 90% of the young tortoises get past the predators into the ocean.

Shark: Sharks are an amazing underwater species that have adapted to their environment by being able to smell prey from miles away.

ResourcesIn the coral reef’s there are not many

resources that us humans use besides fish. We eat fish and many other types of seafood. Some of the worlds first civilizations were developed because of their farming and angling skills. There were some discoveries lately in Australia and Japan in which the aborigines were extremely skilled at fishing and they found fish hooks and ancient, primitive fish traps.

Human ActivityHumans have greatly affected coral reefs.

We have made re-claimed land, polluted and trawled. By making re-claimed land we have destroyed countless fishes homes. (Fishes is a word but you can only use it when referring to multiple species of fish.) By polluting we have killed fish with our trash that is carelessly tossed into the water. By trawling we have taken more fish than we need therefore decreasing the fish population. This form of fishing has driven some species of fish extinct.

Use of ResourcesEating fish has greatly affected the growth

of many civilizations around the world. However fishing too much and wasting the food has a negative effect on the fishes’ population. When many civilizations were formed they were based on fishing and farming however nowadays people are careless and waste food without thinking.

Bibliography http://easybib.com/cite/view