Biology

#1 three types of coral reefs found in the caribean:

fringing reef- these are reefs that grow in shallow waters close to the shore or are seperated from them by a strip of water. they have several zones that are told apart by their depth, structure, and the plant and animals. the diffrent regions are the reef crest (where the waves break), the fore reef (medium energy), and the spur and groove or buttress zone (rows of coral with canyons between each row).

Barrier reef- these are large continuous reefs that grow parallel to the coast and are seperated from land by a lagoon. some regions of a barrier reef is also included in fringing reefs as well as patch reefs, back reefs, and bank reefs. Barrier reefs also include reef flats, the reef crest, and a coral terrace.  after the reef terrace is a deep drop into the water.

Atolls- these are annular reefs near the surface of the sea where an island surrounded by reefs subsides. they are circular or sub-circular and seperate a central lagoon. wo types of atolls are deep sa atolls and those found on continental shelves.

#2 Destruction of coral reefs

only 10 % of the worlds reefs are being destroyed. this isnt a large percent of the coral reefs in the world and the media is wrong.

#3 three causes of coral reef destruction

cora reefs are being destroyed by anthropogenic fluxes in the environment. We are destroying coral reefs by naturally just touching them and by contributing to polution. Another way we are destroying coral reefs are by some fishing habits. Cyanide fishing is one of the fishing ways that is killing coral reefs, this is when fishermen squirt cyanide into the water to stun the fish and small organisms that help coral are killed in the process. Another fishing way we’re destroying the coral reefs is by dynamite fishing, where the reefs physical structure is being completely destroyed. The last way coral reefs are being destroyed is by algae and coral bleaching. this is where The algae inside the corals either die or leave. The allgae is what gives the coral its color and without the algae the white of the limestone shines through.

#4 Humans concerned with coral reef destruction

Humand should be concerned with coral reef destruction because they are a home for milllions of fish and other organisms that we rely on for food. they consist of some of the earths amazing living ecosystems. They protect coastal regions from storms, erosions, or wave damage. And lastly coral reefs are full of, so far, undiscovered biomedical resorces that bioligists have only started to explore.

#5 Corals ecological importance

Coral reefs are important to many diffrent organisms in the oceans. Foremost are fish. The coral reefs protect and shelter the fish, without the reefs the fish would have nowhere to live or breed. this is important to us because most fish and mullusks that live in coral reefs feed between 30 and 40 million people every year. the corals also controll how much carbon dioxide is in the ocean water. without the coral, there would be a huge ammount of carbon in the water and that would affect al living things on earth.

#6 Web sites ive found that were usefull

http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/index.html
this website helped me with two of teh diffrent questions. I read about the importances of coral reefs and why they are so important to the environment, and also about the destruction of coral reefs and what has been happening to them.
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/courses/geog100/CoralReef.htm
this website helped me with question 4. It explained  all the ways that coal reefs are used in the world.
http://www.uvi.edu/coral.reefer/
I did use the site given. It had a lot of information on the anatomy of coral and types of cora reefs and thrreats to the reefs, but it wasn’t fun to read. It was very bland but had all the facts.

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