Corals are marine invertebrates that live in colonies and secrete calcium carbonate to form coral reefs. There are three types of reefs: barrier reefs, which are separated from the mainland by a lagoon; fringing reefs, which are directly attached to or border a shore; and atoll reefs, which surround a lagoon without a central island. Coral reefs have a high level of biodiversity and support thousands of fish species as well as other marine life. Individual corals are composed of tiny polyp animals embedded in calcium carbonate shells.

2. Corals are marine invertebrates which
secrets calcium carbonate to form
coral reefs in which small fishes live
in colonies.

3. Each coral reef is made up of irregular
patches of algae, sessile invertebrates
bare rock, sand & CaCO3.
coral reef

4. There are three types of reefs;
* Barrier reef.
* Fringing reef.
* Atoll reef.

5. BARRIER REEF

6. It’s the Reef separated from the
mainland or island shore by a lagoon.
(lagoon is a shallow body of water)
THE BEST EXAMPLE IS THE GREAT
BARRIER REEF OF AUSTRALIA.
CORAL REEFS

7. FRINGING REEF

8. It’s directly attached to a shore, or
borders it with an intervening shallow
channel or lagoon.
THE BEST EXAMPLE IS THE COAST OF EILAT.

9. ATOLL REEF

10. It’s more or less circular or
continuous barrier reef extends all the
way around a lagoon without a central
island.
TE BEST EXAMPLE IS THE ATOLL REEF
PRESENT IN MALDIVES.

11. WHY ARE THE CORALS KNOWN AS
MARINE INVERTIBRETS ?
Live coral are colonies of small animals
embedded in calcium carbonate shells. It
is a mistake to think of coral as plants
or rocks. Coral heads consist of
accumulations of individual animals
called polyps, arranged in diverse shapes.
Polyps are usually tiny, but they can
range in size from a pinhead to 30 cm
across.

12. THE BIO-DIVERSITY

13. ALGAE
Reefs are chronically at risk
of algal encroachment.
Overfishing and excess
nutrient increase the growth
of algae.
In surveys done around
largely algae inhabit a large
percentage of surveyed coral
locations. Algal encroachment

14. SPONGES
Sponges are essential
for the functioning of
the coral reef's
ecosystem.
coral reefs produce
organic material.
This is filtered
through sponges.

15. FISH
There are more than
4000 species of fish in
a coral reef.
Here the inhabitation
is like some lottery,
the first comers live
in that place and
defend the late comers.

16. AND THERE ARE MANY OTHER MARINE
MAMALS AND REPTILES LIKE MARINE
SNAKE,CROCODILE,LIZARDS,TURTLES,ETC
…

17. Fish cleaning stations
Cleaner wrasse a small fish enter
into other large fishes mouth to
clean it by eating the leftover food
particles and germs.
They even clean whatever is present
on the large fishes body like how
some birds do for the cows and
buffalos.