Great Barrier Reef, complex of coral reefs, shoals, and islets in the
Pacific Ocean
off the northeastern coast of Australia that is the longest and largest reef complex in the world.
What lives in and around the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef is home to
more than 1,500 species of fish
, 411 types of hard coral, one-third of the world's soft corals, 134 species of sharks and rays, six of the world's seven species of threatened marine turtles, and more than 30 species of marine mammals, including the vulnerable dugong.
What is the Great Barrier Reef surrounded by?
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | Reference 154 | Inscription 1981 (5th Session) | Area 34,870,000 ha | Website www.gbrmpa.gov.au |
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What is special about the Great Barrier Reef and surrounding environment?
Larger than New Zealand (344,400 square kilometres or 70 million football fields), it is home to a breathtaking array of life including a number of rare and threatened species as well as: 1625 types of fish. 600 types of
coral
. … 30 species of whales and dolphins.
Who lives near the Great Barrier Reef?
Marine mammals (
whales, dolphins, dugong, seals
)
More than 30 species of marine mammals are found along the Great Barrier Reef. Bottlenose dolphins, humpback and dwarf minke whales are frequently seen while other species such as Bryde's whales are seldom seen or perhaps seldom recognised.
Is the Great Barrier Reef one of the 7 Wonders?
These 7 natural wonders of the world include the Northern Lights, the Grand Canyon, Paricutin, Mount Everest, Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, Victoria Falls, and the Great Barrier Reef.
Are there sharks in the Great Barrier Reef?
There are
many different species of sharks
found in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef ranging from small bottom-dwelling sharks such as wobbegongs to larger types such as tiger sharks and the distinctive hammerhead shark that has a nose shaped like the letter ‘t'.
What is the most common animal in the Great Barrier Reef?
Damselfish
, wrasses, and tusk fish are among the most abundant fish on the reef. There are also blennies, butterflyfish, triggerfish, cowfish, pufferfish, angelfish, anemone fish, coral trout, seahorses, sea perch, sole, scorpionfish, hawkfish, and surgeonfish.
What is the most rarest fish in the Great Barrier Reef?
Researchers exploring the depths of the northern Great Barrier Reef have found a rare species of “walking” fish never before recorded in Australian waters. This type of scorpion fish is called
the Rhinopias agriloba
, is normally found in waters around Hawaii, in the central Pacific.
What is killing the Great Barrier Reef?
According to the GBRMPA in 2014, the most significant threat to the status of the Great Barrier Reef is
climate change
, due to the consequential rise of sea temperatures, gradual ocean acidification and an increase in the number of “intense weather events”.
What are the 3 main threats to the Great Barrier Reef?
- Water quality. Increasing sediment, nutrients and contaminants, combined with rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification are damaging the Reef.
- Crown of Thorns Starfish. …
- Coastal development.
How old is the Great Barrier Reef 2020?
Although coral reefs have been around for over 500 million years, the Great Barrier Reef is relatively young at 500,000 years, and this most modern form is only
8,000 years old
, having developed after the last ice age.
How do humans impact the Great Barrier Reef?
Pollution, overfishing, destructive fishing practices using dynamite or cyanide
, collecting live corals for the aquarium market, mining coral for building materials, and a warming climate are some of the many ways that people damage reefs all around the world every day.
Who owns the Great Barrier Reef?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
are the Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef area and have a continuing connection to their land and sea country.
Who is interested in maintaining the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
is Australia's key management agency for the Great Barrier Reef, and works with government, industry and community to protect this spectacular area.
Is coral an 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. … The tiny, individual organisms that make up large coral colonies are called coral polyps.
