Coral Bleaching Research Paper

476 Words2 Pages

How are coral reefs formed?
Coral reefs are formed by floating coral larvae that attach to rocks that have already been placed in the ocean or any other hard surface. These then grow along the edges of islands or continents. There three different types of reefs. There is barrier, fringing, and atoll. Barrier reefs border shorelines, but at a greater distance. They are separated from their land mass by a lagoon of open, deep water. Fringing reefs are the most common out of all of the reefs. These project seaweed up from the seafloor, forming borders around the shoreline and the islands around it. If a fringing reef is created on a completely underwater volcano and coral is still growing upward, an atoll reef is formed. These reefs are normally circular or oval and with a lagoon in the middle.
What is coral bleaching and how does it happen?
Coral bleaching is when the animals that build the coral shed the algae that give them their color and is necessary for survival. Coral bleaching is suspected to happen by two different ways. The first is due to warmer water. The coral needs to be in certain temperature in order to maintain its life. The second way is due to pollution. This could mean over exposure …show more content…

It is also housing a few endangered species like the Dugong, a sea cow, and a large Green Sea Turtle. This place is so significant that UNESCO listed the Great Barrier as a World Heritage Site in 1981. It has also been one of the most sought out tourist destinations in the world. The Great Barrier Reef has a great amount of marine life and over 3000 individual reef systems, coral clays, and hundreds of tropical islands. There are many ways to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef. You can go snorkeling, scuba diving, aircraft and helicopter tours, self-sailing, glass-bottomed boat viewing, semi-submersibles and educational trips, cruise ships, whale watching, and swimming with