Coral Reefs

            Coral reefs are found around the globe in warm waters. Coral reefs are more diverse in continents of the East Coast. Corals are found in the Carribean, Florida, Brazil, California, Chile, or any Pacific Coast. Corals are members of the phylum cnidaria which they also share with jellyfish, comb jellies and sea anemones. There are no freshwater corals. Temperature in the water for coral reefs can drop below to 18 degrees celcius. Corals are made up of individual coral polyps whom are carnivorous. They are not autotrophic meaning that an organism that is is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide. Zooxanthellae helps the coral by giving the coral the byproducts of their photosynthetic activity. Also, zooxanthellae provides corals with diverse colors. Without color, the corals are white. The corals help zooxanthellae by providing them with an environment to live in. The corals can reproduce both sexually and asexually. On a few nights every year, corals will have a massive spawning event. In conclusion, I have learned many facts about coral reefs and I liked learning about it.

Resources: Science Class