What Are Coral Reefs And What’s Their Purpose?
Coral reefs are the ocean’s rainforests, and they are being destroyed. But why should you actually care? Coral, on the other hand, is more than just a collection of brightly colored rocks.
There are teeny-tiny living things in there. Those “rocks” are actually the polyp skeletons. Polyps produce calcium carbonate on a regular basis to create these protective structures. This is why coral reefs are said to be alive, not because the calcium formations are alive. But because the polyps dwell inside them, like a turtle in a shell. Only emerging to feed or fight with one another. Corals, like jellyfish and sea anemones, are not mobile organisms; instead, they anchor and spend their entire lives in one location.
Polyps can be as small as a pinhead or as huge as a foot (30 cm) broad. Some develop in clusters while others grow alone. Their bodies have a variety of hues due to the symbiotic algae that reside inside of them.
More coral grows on top of them as they grow and die. Over millions of years, coral piles up to build massive coral reefs that support 25% of all ocean life despite covering just 1% of the ocean’s surface area — another rainforest of the sea. Coral first arose 400 million years ago in the fossil record. As the polyps progress through their life cycle, the calcium carbonate they exude will occasionally combine with the secretions of other polyps, generating forms.
Tables, pillars, spiral wires, staghorns, and brain coral can all makes from polyps.
They’re all hard structures with living polyps, but they live in various environments and have different needs. Weather, currents, and, of course, human and large animal activities all influence these shapes. When coral like this clump together, they’re known as reef building coral.
They help to create some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. If you’re like me, you’ve always known that the reefs are essential, but you’ve never known why.
I understand it now that I’ve done some research. I could make a list of every animal that lives on a coral reef. Coral reefs support millions of organisms that live in, on, and around them. Because they’ve been present for millions of years, it’s safe to assume that fish, crustaceans, and algae. Like insects, animals, and birds in the Amazon, have evolved to survive only on reefs.
They don’t stop there. Coral also regulates the amount of carbon dioxide in the water. They extract carbon dioxide from the air and use it to construct their calcium carbonate skeletons. The amount of CO2 in the sea would have an impact on the entire globe if coral did not exist. But happily, they trap it in stone for us all. And if harboring species, looking cool, and rescuing the world weren’t enough,
Coral reefs change the way the ocean interacts with the shore. Reefs can span vast distances and undulate like mountain ranges because they form over millions of years and can exist in both warm shallow water and cooler deeper water. They built to endure typhoons, hurricanes, and other tropical storms, and there by protect the shore from waves, storms, and flooding!
These little mammals developed long before humans, and their presence in places like Australia and Florida helps to avoid loss of life, property damage, and erosion by calming the rushing sea. Corals are in jeopardy right now. Because corals are so sensitive to water temperature, global warming/climate change, ocean acidification, ecotourism, and commercial overfishing are all threatening their existence. When an animal disturbed, it releases its symbiotic colored algae into the water, turns white, and eventually dies.
That’s why it’s crucial to conceive of coral as living creatures like a dog or an elephant, rather than as lovely rocks.
