7th Grade UBD - Unit 8– The Pacific Realm and Oceania

 Coral reefs contain some of the largest diversity of life in the world. They are home to thousands of different plants and animals. For example, coral reefs in the Florida Keys sustain 500 species of fish, more than 1,700 species of mollusks, five species of sea turtles, and hundreds of species of sponges.

 Coral reefs are typically found at a depth less than 150 feet so that they are reachable by sunlight. Coral contains microscopic algae that provide the coral with food and give them their vibrant colors and grow on average about 1 mm to 4cm per year.

 Coral reefs are made up of primitive animals related to jellyfish. Each individual coral is a tiny polyp, a very simple organism consisting mostly of a stomach topped by a tentacle- bearing mouth and is surrounded by a calcium carbonate exoskeleton that it secretes. Thousands of these identical polyps live together, each embedded in the calcium carbonate exoskeleton, which over long periods of time forms the structure of the reef. The coral animals use their tentacles to sting and ingest plankton and other small creatures.

 Coral reefs are scattered throughout the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans. Western Atlantic coral reefs include these areas: Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean Islands, Belize, Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Indo- Pacific Ocean region extends from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf through the Indian and Pacific Oceans to the western coast of Panama. Coral grows on rocky outcrops in some areas of the Gulf of California.

Step One This is going to be wicked fun to draw watch and see. Start by drawing three sets of horizontal lines for your ocean floor. You will then draw the mountain like mound that you see here and then draw a small circle shape. Once that is done draw the guidelines for the different types of coral you will be drawing.

Step Two You will start by drawing out the octopus’s tentacles. Once this is done you can move to the right side and begin sketching out the shape of your first coral of this reef.

Step Three You will now finish sketching out the pipe coral and begin drawing the bamboo like coral you see just below the pipe coral. Once that is done you can start sketching out the beginning of the ocean floor by adding some rocks and detail to the sand.

Step Four As you can see your coral reef is coming together just beautifully. What you will do now is draw the mountain shaped rock, and then add some sea critters like a starfish, and more different types of corals. You can draw some spongy coral, or different cup corals too if you like. Once that is done draw the long wispy shape of some sea grass as you see in the background.

Step Five In this step you will start sketching out the head and face of that cute octopus you see here. Next draw more underwater plants as well as add some detail to the bottom of the ocean floor. Once you are done here, you can move to the next and last drawing step to finish off your coral reef drawing.

Step Six I know I said that this was your last step but, I had to say that to keep you guys moving further without hesitation. You will now finish drawing out the right pipe coral you see and then add some detail to the ocean floor as well as to that dirt mound to the lower right hand corner. Once you are done you can then proceed onto the last drawing step.

Step Seven All you will do here is detail the pipe coral and draw in a small little fish. You can start erasing all the guidelines and shapes that you drew in step one to clean up your ocean.

Step Eight You are now done learning "how to draw a coral reef". Color it in using vibrant shades. You did an awesome job!