The Reefgeneration Organization
For the Future of Coral Reefs
www.shedexpedition.com
www.amusingplanet.com
photoblog.nbcnews.com
www.shedexpedition.com
The world's coral reefs are shrinking.
What can we do to help?
What is a Coral Reef?
Why Should We Care?
1. Coastal protection:
By their massive formation between the surface and the first few tens of meters deep, coral reefs are a very effective for absorbing waves energy and contributing to the reduction of coastal erosion. They reduce the damage in case of storms, hurricanes, and in some way, the energy of tsunamis. In doing so, they protect both ecosystems located between the reefs and coasts, such as seagrass and lagoon for example, and human settlements located by the sea.
Some islands literally built on coral reefs would not exist without their protective fringe.
Appearing as solitary forms in the fossil record more than 400 million years ago, corals are extremely ancient animals that evolved into modern reef-building forms over the last 25 million years. Coral reefs are unique and complex systems.
Most corals, like other cnidarians, contain a symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae, within their gastrodermal cells. The coral provides the algae with a protected environment and the compounds necessary for photosynthesis. In return, the algae produce oxygen and help the coral to remove wastes. Most importantly, they supply the coral with organic products of photosynthesis. The mutual exchange of algal photosynthates and cnidarian metabolites is the key to the prodigious biological productivity and limestone-secreting capacity of reef building corals
Stony corals (or scleractinians) are the corals primarily responsible for laying the foundations of, and building up, reef structures. Massive reef structures are formed when each individual stony coral organism—or polyp—secretes a skeleton of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). For the most part, scleractinians are colonial organisms composed of hundreds to hundreds of thousands of individual polyps, which are soft-bodied organisms. Most stony corals have very small polyps, averaging 1 to 3 mm in diameter, but entire colonies can grow very large and weigh several tons.
Although corals often share similar characteristics, there are a myriad of different adaptations specific to each coral species. Some corals are solitary and have large, single polyps. Other corals don't produce enough calcium carbonate to create reefs. There are also corals that don't rely on algal metabolites like zooxanthellae, and live in deeper and colder waters.
General Coral Shape Classfication:
Corals are highly adapted animals. Tentacles help the polyp capture plankton for food. One type of cell that is unique to, and characteristic of all cnidarians, is the cnidocyte. cnidocytes contain organelles called cnidae, which include nematocysts, a type of stinging cell. Because nematocytes are capable of delivering powerful, often lethal toxins, they are essential to capturing prey, and facilitate in interactions. Polyps often build their skeletons into a cup shape, and retract into them when they are threatened.
 Branching Coralbiology.knoji.com |
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 Digitate Coralcoral.aims.gov.au |
 Table Coralwww.neaq.org |
 Encrusting Coraloceanservice.noaa.gov |
 Elkhorn Coraloceandoctor.org |
 Foliose Coralfaridmuzaki.blogspot.com |
 Mushroom Coralwww.reefs2go.com |
 Submassive Coralcoral.aims.gov.au |
 Massive Coralrefractum.blogspot.com |
 Cup Coralwww.coralreefphotos.com |
Polyp Anatomy coralreef.noaa.gov
Most of the reefs are found in tropical and semitropical waters, between 30° north and 30° south latitudes.
top: microbewiki.kenyon.edu
bottom: ocean.si.edu
2. Habitat:
Scientists estimate that over one million plant and animal species are involved and they host more than 25% of all species of marine life.
Reefs are the basis for the formation of other ecosystems including shoals, islands, coastal forests, and mangrove forests.
The surface of coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific may also be the place of habitat of human cultures that have lived there for centuries. These people can literally live on the immersed surface reefs, cultivate these soils, build their dwell from coral blocks, and even build artificial islands where families can settle.
Yes, Corals are old. Yes Corals are pretty. Yes Corals are big. But why are they so important to us and the planet?
3. Food
One eighth of the world’s population, approximately 850 million people live within 100 kilometers of coral and are likely to reap the benefits of ecosystem services provided by coral reefs.
A large proportion of the human population live in developing countries and island nations and therefore depend to a large proportion of food taken directly from the reef waters.
Reef animals are an important source of protein, contributing about a quarter of the fish catch average in these countries. “Well managed” reef can provide between 5 and 15 tons of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other invertebrates per square kilometer.
4. economy:
Millions of people around the world depend on coral reefs for food, protection and employment, and reefs only cover less than 1% of the surface of the Earth
According to one estimate, the total annual earnings of coral reefs in the world is $29, 8 billion. Tourism and leisure activities represent $9.6 billion, coastal protection $9 billion, fisheries $5.7 billion and biodiversity $ 5.5 billion (Cesar, Burke and Pet-Soede, 2003).
Economically, the total value of Philippine reefs alone is estimated at 1.1 billion dollars per year.
Islands like this may literally disappear without their coral shield.
Biodiveristy of Coral Reefs (click to zoom):
 www.theecologist.org |
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 www.seathos.org |
 coastalcare.org |
 heretodaybutnottomorrow.wikispaces.com |
 web.mit.edu |
 www.lizasreef.com |
5. Tourism:
More than 100 countries benefit from tourism related to reefs and it contributes more than 30 percent of export earnings in more than 20 countries.
In many small islands, more than 90 percent of new economic development is dependent on the coastal tourism.
expertbeacon.com
6. Medical
Being deprived in a great measure of all possible movements, corals have developed a very effective arsenal of chemical weapons for defense. Their weapons are so effective that it has a wide distribution area and therefore a greater number of potentially hostile species. Many of these chemical compounds have molecules that have the potential of our drug discovery.
Reef organisms are used in the treatment of diseases such as certain cancers including leukemia, HIV, cardiovascular diseases, ulcers. In addition, long coral skeleton, because of its very close similarity to our bones nature, served as material for bone grafts.
Because only an infinitesimal part of the reef organisms were sampled, analyzed and tested, the potential for new drug discovery is simply enormous