The microscopic algae are well-protected within the coral tissues and use the metabolic waste products of the coral for photosynthesis, the process by which plants produce their food.īy producing oxygen and removing wastes through photosynthesis, algae also aid the corals by providing them with the organic compounds they need to grow, survive and build up a Reef.įor over 25 million years, tiny ocean animals and plants have worked symbiotically harmoniously to build the world’s biggest living structure, the coral reef. It is common for corals to have plant-like organisms called zooxanthellae. Many coral colonies can live for an extended period because of this growth, death, and regeneration cycle among individual polyps. Polyp aggregates found in stony or hard corals reproduce indefinitely, build the limestone basis for coral reefs, and give shape to the known corals that inhabit them. This skeleton is attached to the rock or to the dead polyp skeletons. A limestone exterior skeleton is secreted by each soft-bodied polyp, most of which are no thicker than a five-cent coin. Polyps, microscopic coral animals, make up most of what we call “coral” structures. Corals utilise their small, tentacle-like arms to scoop up food from the water and swoop it into their mouths, where it is digested. Unlike plants, corals do not produce nourishment, making the animals. Symbiosis, the scientific term for the relationship between corals and other marine organisms, dates back thousands of years. In contrast to most other creatures, we cannot identify them based on their faces or other distinguishing features. In the same way that most plants “take root,” corals attach themselves permanently to the ocean floor. To form the most remarkable structures of biological origin on the planet, coral relies on its close association with algae. From inshore fringing to mid-shelf and exposed outer reefs.Ĭonnecting islands, coral cays, and reefs, this is one of the most diverse on Earth, with over 400 kinds of coral.Ĭoral reefs initially made the Great Barrier Reef famous, but they now only make up around 7% of the Marine Park and the World Heritage Area’s total area. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the world’s most extensive coral Reef ecosystem. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s most extensive coral Reef system, stretching across the Pacific Ocean off the northeastern coast of Australia.
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