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Where is the coral reef located?
Most reefs are located
between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
, in the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Corals are also found farther from the equator in places where warm currents flow out of the tropics, such as in Florida and southern Japan.
What is the latitude and longitude of coral reef?
The map shows us that coral reefs are located in the tropics and subtropics
(between 30° North latitude and 30° South latitude)
. Coral reefs are clearly confined to a broad zone encompassing the tropics and subtropics (between 30° North latitude and 30° South latitude).
Which latitudes are conducive to coral growth?
Global patterns of latitude-correlated environmental controls on coral growth: light, temperature, and carbonate chemistry. Coral reefs are mostly confined to between 35°N and 35°S of the equator and corals
between 40°N and 40°S.
What is the temperature of coral reefs?
Reef-building corals cannot tolerate water temperatures below 64° Fahrenheit (18° Celsius). Many grow optimally in water temperatures
between 73° and 84° Fahrenheit
(23°–29°Celsius), but some can tolerate temperatures as high as 104° Fahrenheit (40° Celsius) for short periods.
What states have coral reefs?
Florida
is the only state in the continental United States with extensive shallow coral reef formations near its coasts. Coral reefs create specialized habitats that provide shelter, food and breeding sites for numerous plants and animals.
Is coral a plant or animal?
Though coral may look like a colorful plant growing from roots in the seafloor, it is
actually an animal
. Corals are known as colonial organisms, because many individual creatures live and grow while connected to each other. They are also dependent on one another for survival.
What color coral is most valuable?
Red coral
, or Corallium rubrum, is a branch-forming coral species found in the Mediterranean Sea and is the most valuable of all precious corals.
What is the largest biological system on earth?
Satellite photograph of the Great Barrier Reef situated off the northeastern coast of Australia. Stretching for 1,429 miles over an area of approximately 133,000 square miles , the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world.
Do coral reefs produce oxygen?
Most corals, like other cnidarians, contain a symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae, within their gastrodermal cells. … In return,
the algae produce oxygen
and help the coral to remove wastes.
What are three physical requirements for coral growth?
- Sunlight: Corals need to grow in shallow water where sunlight can reach them. …
- Clear water: Corals need clear water that lets sunlight through; they don't thrive well when the water is opaque. …
- Warm water temperature: Reef-building corals require warm water conditions to survive.
What are the 3 main types of coral reefs?
The three main types of coral reefs are
fringing, barrier, and atoll
. Schools of colorful pennantfish, pyramid, and milletseed butterflyfish live on an atoll reef in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The most common type of reef is the fringing reef. This type of reef grows seaward directly from the shore.
What temperature kills corals?
A spike of 1–2°C in ocean temperatures sustained over several weeks
can lead to bleaching, turning corals white. If corals are bleached for prolonged periods, they eventually die. Coral bleaching events often lead to the death of large amounts of corals.
Can corals adapt to global warming?
Coral reefs
may be able to adapt to moderate climate warming
and improve their chance of surviving through the end of this century, if there are large reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. … Corals bleach when ocean waters warm just 1-2°C (2-4°F) above normal summertime temperatures.
Does coral grow in cold water?
Like warm-water corals, cold-water ones have a beautiful hard skeleton, and can form huge reef structures on which many animals depend. Unlike tropical reef-building corals, cold-water corals
can grow in the dark, in deep, cold water
, catching their own food.
What are the 3 largest reefs in the world?
- Great Barrier Reef, Australia. …
- Red Sea Coral Reef, Israel, Egypt and Djibouti. …
- New Caledonia Barrier Reef, South Pacific. …
- MesoAmerican Barrier Reef, Atlantic Ocean. …
- Florida Reef, Florida. …
- Andros Coral Reef, Bahamas. …
- Saya Del Malha, Indian Ocean.