Coral reef
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A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem built by colonies of coral polyps that secrete calcium carbonate exoskeletons.[1][2] Shallow coral reefs cover an area less than 0.1% of the global ocean surface, yet they support at least 25% of all marine species.[3]
Quick Facts
- First appearance
- 485 million years ago
- Percentage of ocean area
- less than 0.1%
- Horizontal growth rate
- 1 to 3 cm (1.18 in) per year
- Vertical growth rate
- 1 to 25 cm (9.84 in) per year
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
The optimum temperature for most coral reefs is 26–27 °C, and few reefs exist in waters below 18 °C.[4] Healthy tropical coral reefs grow horizontally from 1 to 3 cm per year and vertically from 1 to 25 cm per year.[5] The formation of shallow-water reefs is limited to a latitudinal band between roughly 30° N and 30° S of the equator.[4]
What the specialist sources record
The Coral Reef Alliance states that hard corals build reefs by secreting calcium carbonate beneath their bodies, while soft corals do not produce reefs.[6] The Coral Reef Alliance notes that algae, seaweed, sponges, sediment, and mollusks like giant clams and oysters also contribute to reef architecture.[6] A coral.org guide lists four reef classifications: fringing reefs, barrier reefs, atolls, and patch reefs.[7] The same guide explains that atolls usually form when islands surrounded by fringing reefs sink into the sea or sea level rises around them.[7]
The coral.org guide describes patch reefs as small, isolated reefs that grow up from the open bottom of the island platform or continental shelf.[7] According to Moyle and Cech, six reef zones can be identified, although most reefs contain only some of these.[8][9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Coral reef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "How Reefs Are Made", Coral Reef Alliance, 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Coral reef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lee, "The middle–late Cambrian reef transition and related geological events: A review and new view", Earth-Science Reviews, 1 June 2015, p. 66–84 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Coral reef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "New estimates of global and regional coral reef areas", Coral Reefs, 1997, p. 225–230; Spalding, Mark, Corinna Ravilious, and Edmund Green (2001). World Atlas of Coral Reefs. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press and UNEP/WCMC .; Mulhall, "Saving rainforests of the sea: An analysis of international efforts to conserve coral reefs", Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum, Spring 2009, p. 321–351; "Where are Corals Found?", NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, 13 May 2011; Hoover, "Hawaiʻi's Sea Creatures", Mutual, November 2007 (ori en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Coral reef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Achituv, Y. and Dubinsky, Z. 1990. Evolution and Zoogeography of Coral Reefs Ecosystems of the World. Vol. 25:1–8. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Coral reef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: MSN Encarta, "Great Barrier Reef", 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "How Reefs Are Made", Coral Reef Alliance, 2021. facts only, no text reused. coral.org
- Types of Coral Reef Formations at coral.org. Retrieved 2 Feb 2018.. facts only, no text reused. coral.org
- Wikipedia, "Coral reef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Moyle, "Fishes: an introduction to ichthyology", Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004, p. 556 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9780131008472 ("Fishes"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Coral reef (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Coral Reefs
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Coral reef (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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