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Search Results for ‘coral reef’

Coral Reef Information and Resources

Coral reefs are one of the more varied ecosystems, providing a home for a quarter of the ocean’s creatures. The majority of the world’s reefs are found in tropical waters, specifically in the Pacific Ocean. People and animals rely on ocean reefs for food, and some areas depend on the reefs for tourism and protection of the shoreline.Although coral seem like hard rocks, it is actually a living creature. All coral reefs begin with a small polyp. The polyps are fragile organisms, and each one excretes an exoskeleton for protection from predators. This cup shaped exoskeleton attaches to other polyps around it and these skeletal polyps form a coral colony. This coral colony extends to form what people know as coral reefs. As the polyps continue to excrete new exoskeletons, they move upward and outward, living on the surface of the old, dead skeletal system created previously.There are three types […]