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Factors That Affect Coral Reef Biome

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Introduction

Coral reefs are colorful marine invertebrate animals that build on top of each other. The coral reef biome covers a large region of the Earth with a climate component and certain living elements. The climate consists of weather and geographical components. There are many forms of life that interact and influence each other in a coral reef biome. These include plants, animals, biotic and abiotic factors, and humans. In this expository writing I will explain each of these elements of the coral reef biome in turn. Finally, I will make conclusions.

Coral Reef Weather

Coral reefs have saltwater with temperatures in the range of 20 degrees to 28 degrees Celsius. Coral reefs need enough sunlight to help photosynthesis for their algae and plants. Instead of having four seasons, coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef have only two seasons: a wet season and a dry season. The average high temperature …show more content…

One of them are seagrasses. Seagrass is particularly important because they supply homes for juvenile coral animals like the lobster and conch. There are many abiotic factors as well. Trash is one abiotic factor. Trash harms coral reefs because if the trash covers the coral, it might not get enough sunlight for photosynthesis, and the coral might die. Trash does not help coral reefs.

Human Impact

Humans affect coral reefs in both a good and bad way. Humans do many negative activities including blast fishing. In blast fishing, people use explosives, bombs, or guns to kill the fish, which can destroy the coral reef entirely. Even though humans do a lot of bad things to coral reefs, we sometimes help coral reefs too. For example, scientists have figured out that we can replant heat-resistant algae to coral reefs, to prevent bleaching. This process can improve the heat-resistance of the coral which makes global warming a smaller problem for the reefs.

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