Geo Assignment

Before I explain to you what 'Coral Reefs' are, let me first expalin what coral is. Corals are living organisms that are usally found in large colourful groups and are marine invertebrates. Corals are usually found in tropics around the equator because they need heat and warm waters to survive. Corals are reef builders because they deposit calcium carbonate which forms a hard surface area. These areas are called 'Coral Reefs' and provides an important home for fish, turtels, smaller sharks and many other types of marine life. The coral reefs make up 25% of all the world marine life!

The Coral Reefs

Native commmunities that interact with the Coral Reefs

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What are the possibel threats to the coral reefs?

Coral Reefs have lived for thousands of years thanks to the evoloution and natural changes. However coral reefs might not be able to withstand the distruction of humans. Already one-quarter of coral reefs worldwide are reported to be damaged beyond repair, and two-thirds in serious condition. The main threats to coral reefs are:Destructive fishing practices (e.g. dynamite fishing), overfishing, careless tourism, pollution, sedimentation (ie. from consturction), coral mining and climate change.

Torres Straight Island people have been a large part of the of the Great Barrier Reefs unique culture for over 60,000 years. Even today more than 50 traditional owner groups live along the coast and on islands starting from Bunderberg to Capetown. The Torres Striaght Island People travel long distances on small boats to hunt and gather turtels and dungongs. They then trade these aniamls with other islands along the Papuan Coast.

What are Coral Reefs?

3 examples of Coral Reefs aorund the world

Three of the most well known and most beautiful Coral Reefs around the world are:1.'The Great Barrier Reef'. This coral reef is the largest Coral Reef in the entire world stretching out to about 2,300 kilometers. This reef is truly spectacular. It is located down under in Australia and has over 3000 individual coral reefs. 2. 'Red Sea Coral Reef'. This coral reef is also very large, in fact it is the third largest coral reef in the world, measuring approximately 2,000 kilometers. This Coral Reef is over 5,000 years old and with its depth of 2850m, it could easily swallow the highest mountain in its country (Egypt) measuring 2642m (Gebel Katarina). 3. Finally, last but not least we have 'Belieze Barrier Reef' which is the largest Barrier Reef in the Northern Hemisphere, located in Central America. This Barrier Reef is special (much like the 'Great Barrier Reef') because it is a 'UNESCO World Heritage Site' meeting three of it's criteria: VII - outstanding stage of earth's history, XI - significant ecological and biological process in evolution and finally X - to contain the most important natural habitats.

3 types of specific animal species found in Coral Reef

There are many different kinds of beautiful and colourful animal species found in the coral reefs. These can range from sea turtle to shark and all these animals are different sizes, shapes and colours. Here are my top three favourite animals;1.My first animal would have to be the 'Logger Head sea turtle', they are cute and colorful. They usually live in shallower and warmer coral reefs. They are cold blooded animals, strong swimmers and brillant divers who come onto the sand a few weeks after mating and lay around 200 eggs.2.My second species of animals are seahorses. Seahorses are obviously very colourful and intriguing with their interesting adaptions to the coral reefs. There are over 40 different types of seahorse, but the most well known seahorse is the 'Common Seahorse'. These seahorses can range in colour, but they always camouflage with their surrondings. The 'Common Seahorse' is one of the smallest types of seahorses and usually males grow up to only 1 inch.3.Last but definitely not least you have the 'Angel Shark'. What intersted me about this one type of shark was its body shape. They have a mostly flattened body, although they have long wide fins looking like wings (hence the name). They hide in the sand and mud in daylight and hunt at night, and are usually either scared or friendly towards humans.