Copy - 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.

+info

sources

Atoll Reefs

Plants, Fish, Fungi Oh My!

Featured Fungi: Aspergillus sydowii

Featured Plant: Seagrass (Zosteraceae)

This fungus forms on corals and has deteriorated or killed massive amounts of colonies. The coral reefs that are mostly affected by the is in the carribeans and along the pacific coast of Columbia. It throves here as a soil decomposing saprotroph. This is usually terrestrial, however since it is salt tolerant it can survive in the sea.

Seagrass is arguably one of the most important plants in the reef, since it is home to juvenile reef animals. Often found in shallow "brackish" waters. Seagrass has adpted to life underwater by increasing salt tolerance and having flexible blades offering less resistance to waves.

Featured Fish: Caribbean Reef Shark

The scientific name of this species is Carcharhinus perezi, they are the most common shark in the west atlantic ocean. They stick to the same area due to planty of food. They have been recently listed as endangered due to over fishing.

Barrier Reefs

Plants, Fish, Fungi Oh My!

Featured Fungi

Featured Plant: Red Algae

Rhodophyta is the phylum red algae is from. Red algae is known as limestone reef builders of the ecosystem. Which arised when a eukaryotic phagotroph engulfed a photosynthetic prokaryote. Red algae resides 90% in marine habitats and the rest in freshwater.

This could be yours! Our knowledge about fungi in reefs is very limited, so theres tons of oppurtuinity for you.

Featured Fish: Clown Fish

Clownfish are otherwise known as Amphiprioninae. They are relative in size to a teacup. They live in the sea anemones. Clown Fish have a protective layer of sking making them resistent to the lethal sting of the anemones. Clownfish are all born male but can change to female to becaome the dominant female of a group.

Fringing Reefs

Plants, Fish, Data Oh My!

Data

Featured Plant: Diploria Strigosa

Diploria strigosa coral is often found in the tropics of the Atlantic. They live on the bottom of shallow reefs. These corals of a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae. using photosynthesis to feed the coral tissue and the zooxanthellaerecieves the metabolic waste from the coral.

"Out of 1036 reefs... 40% had no or negligible bleaching, 35% had moderate bleaching and 25% had severe bleaching." according to Reef Authority.

Featured Fish: Humpheaded Wrasse

The Cheilinus undulatus lives in the indian ocean to the pacific ocean. Unlike Clownfish Wrasse's can change from female to male. They are the largest fish found in coral reefs.

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. Skerry, Brian. “Swimming with Sharks.” Swimming With Sharks, 11 May 2023, ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/swimming-sharks. KDE Santa Barbara, kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/coralreef.html#:~:text=Besides%20zooxanthellae%2C%20algae%20and%20seagrasses,animals%20like%20conch%20and%20lobster. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023. Pamela L Reynolds    reviewed by Emmett Duffy and Nancy Knowlton. “Seagrass and Seagrass Beds.” Smithsonian Ocean, 11 May 2023, ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/seagrass-and-seagrass-beds. Pamela L Reynolds    reviewed by Emmett Duffy and Nancy Knowlton. “Seagrass and Seagrass Beds.” Smithsonian Ocean, 11 May 2023, ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/seagrass-and-seagrass-beds. Soler-Hurtado, M. M., Sandoval-Sierra, J. V., Machordom, A., & Diéguez-Uribeondo, J. (2016). Aspergillus sydowii and Other Potential Fungal Pathogens in Gorgonian Octocorals of the Ecuadorian Pacific. PLoS ONE, 11(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165992 Online, Biology. “Red Algae - Definition and Examples - Biology Online Dictionary.” Biology Articles, Tutorials & Dictionary Online, 24 June 2022, www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/red-algae. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/clownfish “Humphead Wrasse.” National Aquarium, aqua.org/explore/animals/humphead-wrasse. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023. Joseph Evans and Dr. James B. Wood. Brain Coral, Diploria Strigosa, www.thecephalopodpage.org/MarineInvertebrateZoology/Diploriastrigosa.html. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.

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.

+info

+info

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.

+info

+info

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.

+info

+info