Just look at this picture, isn’t it beautiful? Well this is a Coral Reef.

A Coral reef looks to us like a beautiful underwater village.

Many different animals depend on it for food and shelter.

It is beautiful and magical place.

A Coral Reef is a very important Ecosystem.

What is an Eco System?

An ecosystem is a group or community of living things that live together and interact together in a specific (or special) environment.

Did you know that coral are actually animals?

Coral Reefs look like they are made of rock, but in fact they are groups of animals called corals!

Each Coral group is made up of separate coral polyps. One coral polyp can be as small as the head of a pin, but when many polyps join together they can make a reef that can stretch for miles.

All sorts of creatures from big ones to little ones live on or beside reefs around the world.

Starfish and giant clams can be found on the coral reef surface

Tube sponges look like chimneys stretching up from the coral, and seahorses wrap their tails around the coral

Sea turtles love to swim around coral reefs and eels hide in the reef’s cracks.

Many animals use the reef to play hide and seek!

Some use camouflage to hide and stay safe from other animals that could eat them, and others use if to stay hidden while they are hunting.

Coral Reefs are very important to us too, so we need to take care of them for all our sakes: for the sea, for the animals, for us.

• Most Coral Reefs are between 5,000 and 10,000 years old.

• Coral have growth rings just like trees.

• The first coral reefs on earth were formed about 240 million years ago, before dinosaurs were alive!

The Great Barrier Reef.

• Coral reefs all over the world are in danger.

• Ocean Waters are getting warmer, because of climate change.

• What’s climate change again?

• Climate change is rising temperatures and changing weather conditions all around the earth caused by increased human actitiy)

• Coral polyps die when the water is too warm

• Pollution is bad for coral reefs too.

• Sometimes it spills into the oceans, as we learnt from Emma’s presentation on the great pacific garbage patch.

• Irresponsible fishing and boating can also damage the reefs.

• Warmer water temperatures can result in coral bleaching.

• When water is too warm, the algae living in their tissues leave the coral, this causes the coral to turn completely white.

• This is called coral bleaching.

• When a coral bleaches, it is not dead.

• Corals can survive a bleaching event, but they are under more stress and might be more likely to die.

• We can all do something to help the coral reefs!

• Share what we know!

• Be careful not to be a polluting person!

• Organise a beach clean up!

• Write to our countries leaders to ask them to take action and help!

See slidehow for direct links :)