Coral Reef Types

The book, Coral Reefs, by Simon Rose, presents that categories of coral reefs, what coral reefs are home to, and the dangers that they may face. Coral reefs are made up of coral polyps that attach and multiply to a limestone skeleton called a calicle. Coral reefs are categorized in three ways, which is by their type. 1. Fringed reef, 2. Barrier reef, 3. Atolls. The fringed reef either borderers the shore near a lagoon, or it will be directly attached, next is the barrier reef. The barrier reef, on the other hand, it is more exposed to the ocean; it is separated from the shore by a lagoon. The barrier reef can be very long, and they grow parallel to the coastline. The last type of reef is the atoll reefs. The atoll reefs start off as a fringing …show more content…
The last example is a cay. Cays are low, sandy islands located on the surface of coral reefs. They develop when the material collects in the lagoon or on the reef, which then forms land above sea level. Coral reefs are home to a vague species and types of animals. The types of animals that coral reefs shelter are fish, echinoderms, and mollusks. Fish makes up a huge amount of animals living in coral reefs. Wrasses are a common type of fish in the coral reef. Fish species include: angelfish, butterfly fish, pufferfish, scorpionfish, seahorses, and multiple species of ray. Not only fish, but some sharks species live in or near coral reefs, such as the caribbean shark, blacktip shark, and the white tip shark. The sharks are the only ones that are on top of the food chain; they are the main predator. They mostly feed on fish, eels, and crabs, and can survive six weeks without food. Echinoderms are invertebrates (animals without a backbone), usually with five appendages (a projecting part of an invertebrate), that come out of their bodies. Echinoderms are very common in coral reefs and there are more than 1200 species of sea …show more content…
Octopuses, squid, clams and marine snails are often spotted near coral reefs. These reefs face danger in three different ways. One, they are affected by chemical waste in the ocean, which is disposed from industries, and agriculture. What happened is that industries produce a runoff, and it is disposed in the ocean, which is environmentally unhealthy and it damages a lot of life in the oceans. Not only does industries have a negative effect on coral reefs, but so can boats and ships. These structures and models can rupture and damage the life of coral reefs, and it may take many years for it to recover. As ships and boats move by in a channel, there is a high possibility that they will run through and damage the coral reefs. Changes in their natural environment can affect coral reefs. Heat of the ocean water can affect the coral reefs. If the temperature of the ocean changes too fast, and the coral reefs do not have enough time to adapt, they may lose their zooxanthellae and they may become completely white, and more fragile. Coral reefs have many factors that build up to be a pleasure to the eye, but we have to help protect it and keep