There are mainly three types of coral reefs: Fringing reefs, Barrier reefs and Atolls.
Fringing reefs: Reefs that grow directly from a shore.
Barrier reefs: Reefs that parallel a shore, and are separated from it by lagoon.
Atoll: It is roughly circular (annular) oceanic reef system surrounding a large (and often deep) central lagoon.
1. Coral is
A) a plant
B) an animal
C) a bacteria
D) a mineral
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2. What is the largest reef in the world?
A) Great Barrier Reef
B) The Palancar Reef
C) Red Sea Coral Reef
D) Florida Reef
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3. Coral reefs are mostly made up of
A) Polyps
B) Algae
C) Marine life
D) Sand
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4. Large community of corals is called
A) Ecotone
B) Colony
C) Chain
D) Army
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5. Coral build their homes
A) near hydrothermal vents
B) Swamp
C) Shallow water
D) All of the above
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6. What terrestrial ecosystem are coral reefs most like
A) deserts
B) mountains
C) plains
D) rainforests
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7. Which of these is not a type of coral reef
A) Atoll
B) Barrier
C) Fringing
D) Peninsular
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8. Which environment has historically been the most stable?
A) desert
B) coral reef
C) Tundra
D) tropical rain forest
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9. What is the type of exoskeleton formed by corals?
A) Hydrogen Calcite
B) Calcium Carbonate
C) Limestone
D) Phosphate
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10. Development of coral reefs from shore to seaward is
A) Atoll → Fringing → Barrier
B) Fringing → Atoll → Barrier
C) Fringing → Barrier → Atoll
D) Barrier → Fringing → Atoll
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Explaination:
1. The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia, is the largest living thing on Earth, and even visible from outer space. The 2,300km-long ecosystem comprises thousands of reefs and hundreds of islands made of over 600 types of hard and soft coral. It's home to countless species of colourful fish, molluscs and starfish, plus turtles, dolphins and sharks.
Coral – Animal or vegetable or mineral?
Ans While corals may look like rocks and share several characteristics of plants, they are in fact animals. To be exact they are aquatic marine invertebrates (known as polyps) that live in the warm shallows of the clear coastal waters located around the world. A huge number of marine organisms make their home among the corals, making reefs some of the most abundant and varied habitats on Earth. A large community of corals is called a colony. Corals live in partnership with single-celled zooxanthellae algae, which are also responsible for the bright colours. When corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light or nutrients, they respond by expelling the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn white. This damaging effect is known as coral bleaching. Bleaching is akin to coral cancer and without the algae, the coral loses its major source of food and starves to death. They are cnidarians i.e. consist of a simple body, featuring a central mouth opening that is surrounded by stinging tentacles. They use calcium and a variety of other minerals in the seawater – together with the food waste they produce – to construct their own protective calcium carbonate skeleton shelters in which to live. When coral dies, the hard, chalky skeletal remains are left behind and new polyps will grow on top of these. Sedimentary limestone rock is formed when the coral skeletons are compacted over many thousands of years. Over hundreds of thousands of years, a colony of polyps can grow big enough to link up with other colonies to form a large coral reef
