Coral Reef Infographic

Haley Turner

Coral Reefs "rainforest of the seas"

Globally, there are three primary types of reefs: Atoll, Barrier, and Fringing. These reefs are home to a vast array of life, including fish, corals, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges, and sea turtles, among others, according to NOAA. These organisms rely on reefs for survival, serving as large deposits of calcium carbonate and producing proteins that give them their characteristic "hard skeleton." Corals live in colonies that form from polyps growing off of existing structures.

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sources

Works Cited

“BKids.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., kids.britannica.com/kids/article/atoll/544989#:~:text=The%20volcanic%20island%20may%20sink,50%20meters)%20deep%20or%20more. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023. “Coral Reefs and Sinking Islands: Revisiting Darwin’s Other Theory.” Oceans at MIT, oceans.mit.edu/news/featured-stories/coral-reefs-sinking-islands-incomplete-theory-charles-darwin.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023. “Scientists Pinpoint How Corals Build Their Bony Structures.” American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 1 June 2017, www.aaas.org/news/scientists-pinpoint-how-corals-build-their-bony-structures#:~:text=Corals%20are%20tiny%20marine%20invertebrates,to%20form%20a%20hard%20skeleton. US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Are the Three Main Types of Coral Reefs?” NOAA’s National Ocean Service, 20 Nov. 2008, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/threecorals.html. US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Species Live in and around Coral Reefs?” NOAA’s National Ocean Service, 1 June 2013, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_species.html#:~:text=Coral%20reefs%20are%20home%20to,on%20reefs%20for%20their%20survival.

Fringing Coral Reef

Shore Reef

This type of reef is the most common and typically forms around the shoreline. Often, where there is a Fringing reef, you will find an atoll reef. Since a fringing reef grows upward from a sunken volcano, it is an ideal area for an atoll reef.

Fringing reefs are similiar to barrier reefs, the major difference is that fringing reefs grow directly out from the shore. These reefs provide protection to aquatic homes from storms.

According to Darwin's theory, fringing reefs are formed, barrier reefs, and atoll reefs.

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Barrier Reef

"Great Barrier Reef"

Barrier reefs are similar to Fringing reefs; however, they have a large body of water between the shore and the reef creating deep lagoons. Eventually, these barrier reefs will progress to Atoll reefs, according to Darwin's theory. Subsidence and sea level oscillations are important to the distribution and types of reefs that we see today. These two factors help to explain the barrier reefs around Hawaii since they were sinking at different rates than the rest. It is possible that 3 million years ago there were more barrier reefs, due to the lack of northern glacial cycles.

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Atoll Reef

Enclosed circular rings

Atoll reefs form an enclosed ring of coral, creating a lagoon in the center. This is the result of a sinking volcanic island. These lagoons can reach as deep as 50 meters or more and can be dozens of miles long. Some of the rims of the reefs are large enough to live on such as the Maldives and Marshall Islands. These reefs are in danger due to the warming of the oceans, causing a higher amount of carbon dioxide to dissolve. Boosting the acidity in tthe water causing the ocean to absorb the carbonate, necessary for marine life to develop therir skelotons and shells. Fun Fact: Bikini Atoll was used by the United States to test atomic weapons.

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