Coral Reefs

This week in marine biology class we talked about coral reefs. Coral reefs are argonite structures that are produced by living organism. A coral reef can be made up of thousands of individual organism such as polyps, and the inside of the reef is made of calcium carbonate. Coral reefs are found in shallow waters because they need a constant supply of sunlight. This sunlight is needed for the zooxanthellae who live in symbiosis with the coral reef. The coral reef provides the zooxanthellae protection and shelter, while it supplies the coral reef with nutrients and food through photosynthesis. Recently, its been getting harder for coral reefs to sustain a living because their needs aren't as plentiful as they used to be. First of all, they need to live in warm temperatures so they only live in a specific area of the ocean, near the equator. Secondly, the nutrients they need to live is shared with other organisms who take more than they should. Other factors are making a living for coral reefs harder, and soon enough it will get dangerously hard for them to live. Hopefully the continue to live, because they provide for a home to thousands of organisms.