2. What is the Importance of Coral Reefs? Because Coral Reefs are the “rainforests of the ocean” and represent twenty-five percent of the oceans marine life, they are one of the most valuable ecosystem on earth. Coral Reefs support about four-thousand species of fish, eight-hundred species of hard coral, and hundreds of different species.

3. How are Coral Reefs Formed? Coral Reefs are formed by many things. Climate change has an influence on how they are made. The current of the waves also affects coral reefs, as well as how much water there is and how much light is on the coral reef.

4. Where are Coral Reefs Located? Coral reefs are mostly found in tropical latitudes and flourish in shallow areas less than 120 feet deep. Some live in deeper waters where the light can not penetrate the water, the coral reef and it’s food. The algae and plankton can not photosynthesize.

5. What Diseases affect Coral Reefs? Coral bleaching affects coral reefs because when the temperature gets high it makes the coral reefs eject algae called zooxanthellae which can eventually kill coral reefs. Brown band also kills coral reefs. Brown band is a single celled organism that is covered with zooxanthellae and in the end the coral reef will die.

6. How can we prevent diseases from happening to coral reefs? One way of preventing diseases from happening to coral reefs is to not pollute the ocean with domestic and industrial wastes. Another way is to prohibit people from using uncontrolled fishing methods and also disallow diving and snorkeling that destroys coral reefs.

7. What can Coral Diseases be Caused by? Coral diseases can be caused by bacteria, fungi, algae, and worms. Another factor that causes coral disease, is the abiotic stresses, which originates when the water temperatures increase, is polluted, or filled with sediments. It is also due to ultraviolet radiation. One other thing that causes diseases is when the water balance is altered. The result is that coral reefs are spread and colonized with diseases that bring microbes.

8. How do People Today Destroy Coral Reefs? Careless tourism affects coral reefs because many people like to collect coral from the coral reefs and drop anchors on reefs. Over fishing which affects the food chain and causes effects far in the population of fish.

9. What Other Causes Destroy Coral Reefs? The lack of community education about coral reefs causes coral reefs to be destroyed because someone might be hurting coral reefs without even knowing it. Not having the proper resource management also causes coral reefs to die because if we did we would have control on what is happening. Another cause is the absence of community, government, and private involvement in helping coral reefs.

10. How can People Cooperate in Coral Reef Conservation? People can cooperate by actively engaging the community by raising funds for the coral reefs and working on community service hours. People can also help by constructing marine protected areas so nothing will affect them.

11. What Kinds of Extreme Weather have an Effect on Coral Reefs? Floods do a big damage to coral reefs because when the flood water comes off the land it carries different kinds of fertilizers and pesticides into the ocean thus damaging the balance of the water. Cyclones also cause great amount of damage to coral reefs. The records show that between 1995 and 2009 around 34% of coral died.

12. How does Global Warming affect Coral Reefs? Having warm waters affects coral reefs because it causes the coral reefs and fish to become bleached. This happens when the coral ejects zooxanthellae which then kills the coral reef. The high temperatures affect the coral reefs as well. The high temperatures cause the coral reef to produce algae, and once the coral reef eats it they turn white and start to die. This disease is called white band.

13. What does a Coral Reef Require to have in Order to Live? The majority of coral reefs need a water temperature between 23 – 29 degrees Celsius to grow normally and if they don’t they will die. Coral Reefs also require salty water that ranges within 32 to 42 parts per thousand and must have clear water, so that the most amount of light can penetrate it.

14. Lets Save Our Coral Reefs !!!