39 Stunning Photos Of The World's Coral Reefs

Nathan Johnson Published 08/12/2014 in Animals & Nature

Coral reefs are basically the rain forests of the ocean. They are beautiful and full of life.

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1.
The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the largest in the world and can be seen from space.
2.
Each coral is a marine invertebrate made up of many identical polyps.
3.
Clownfish in a sea anemone
4.
Corals secrete calcium carbonate, which in turn forms the coral reefs.
5.
Orange Cup Coral
6.
Red Hawksbill Sea Turtle
7.
8.
There are thought to be about 70,000 different types of coral species, but the corals themselves are only a small fraction of the biodiversity that they support.
9.
Boulder Brain Coral
10.
Coral reefs only cover 0.2 percent of the ocean floor, but account for 25 percent of all marine species.
11.
12.
Christmas Tree Worms
13.
The reefs we see today have been built over the last 5,000 to 10,000 years.
14.
Frogfish use camouflage to hide in the coral, so they can quickly eat unsuspecting fish that swim by and also escape being eaten by even bigger fish.
15.
Spiral Wire Coral
16.
17.
Pillar Coral
18.
We have already lost 27 percent of the coral reefs around the world, and 60 percent will be gone in the next 30 years if nothing changes.
19.
Tubeworm
20.
Individual polyps of a Sea Fan Coral
21.
The major threats to the coral reefs are climate change, overfishing, and land pollution. They are very sensitive to water temperature and acidity.
22.
Palm Coral
23.
Papuan Scorpionfish
24.
About 500 million people depend on the coral reefs systems around the world for food, coastal protection, and income from tourism.
25.
Divaricate Tree Coral
26.
Pygmy Seahorse
27.
Gorgonian Fan Coral
28.
29.
Coral bleaching occurs when the water temperature it too high, and the algae that give the corals their color gets ejected. If the algae dont get reabsorbed soon, the coral will die.
30.
31.
Fungia or Disc Coral
32.
Nudibranch a.k.a. sea slug
33.
34.
35.
Starfish eat coral and are a threat to reefs when their population gets too large.
36.
Crown of Thorn Starfish
37.
On the other hand, some fish eat invading seaweed and help protect the reefs.
38.
Broad-Barred Goby
39.

1.
The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the largest in the world and can be seen from space.
2.
Each coral is a marine invertebrate made up of many identical polyps.
3.
Clownfish in a sea anemone
4.
Corals secrete calcium carbonate, which in turn forms the coral reefs.
5.
Orange Cup Coral
6.
Red Hawksbill Sea Turtle
7.
8.
There are thought to be about 70,000 different types of coral species, but the corals themselves are only a small fraction of the biodiversity that they support.
9.
Boulder Brain Coral
10.
Coral reefs only cover 0.2 percent of the ocean floor, but account for 25 percent of all marine species.
11.
12.
Christmas Tree Worms
13.
The reefs we see today have been built over the last 5,000 to 10,000 years.
14.
Frogfish use camouflage to hide in the coral, so they can quickly eat unsuspecting fish that swim by and also escape being eaten by even bigger fish.
15.
Spiral Wire Coral
16.
17.
Pillar Coral
18.
We have already lost 27 percent of the coral reefs around the world, and 60 percent will be gone in the next 30 years if nothing changes.
19.
Tubeworm
20.
Individual polyps of a Sea Fan Coral
21.
The major threats to the coral reefs are climate change, overfishing, and land pollution. They are very sensitive to water temperature and acidity.
22.
Palm Coral
23.
Papuan Scorpionfish
24.
About 500 million people depend on the coral reefs systems around the world for food, coastal protection, and income from tourism.
25.
Divaricate Tree Coral
26.
Pygmy Seahorse
27.
Gorgonian Fan Coral
28.
29.
Coral bleaching occurs when the water temperature it too high, and the algae that give the corals their color gets ejected. If the algae dont get reabsorbed soon, the coral will die.
30.
31.
Fungia or Disc Coral
32.
Nudibranch a.k.a. sea slug
33.
34.
35.
Starfish eat coral and are a threat to reefs when their population gets too large.
36.
Crown of Thorn Starfish
37.
On the other hand, some fish eat invading seaweed and help protect the reefs.
38.
Broad-Barred Goby
39.