Coral Reefs

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Coral Reefs

• Rainforests of the Sea

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• Coral reefs formed more than 500 million years
  ago
• They cover less than 0.2 of the ocean floor
• They contain 25 of the oceans species

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• Coral is an invertebrate (without a backbone)
  animal
• There are over 2500 species of coral, of which
  1000 are
• reef building or hard coral

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Most coral reefs are located between 200N and
200S of the equator Coral thrive in shallow,
clear sunlit saltwater between 790 and 810
F They are found in water depths of less than
30 feet
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3 Types of Reefs

• Fringing Reefs
• Barrier Reefs
• Atolls

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Fringing Reefs

• They grow directly from the shoreline of the
  continent

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Barrier Reefs

• They are found further out from the land,
  separated from the shore by a stretch of
  protected water-a lagoon

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Atolls

• These are offshore ring-like formations that
  surround a shallow, central lagoon