Coral Reefs: Ecosystem Basics

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Cities of the Sea

A variety of organisms make their home on this tropical coral reef in Indonesia.
A variety of organisms make their home on this tropical coral reef in Indonesia.
© Chris Newbert/Minden Pictures
Reefs are the big cities of the sea: crowded, busy places where diverse inhabitants live in close quarters and share resources with their neighbors. Corals form the foundation of these cities, providing housing for thousands of other species. But unlike the concrete foundations of human cities, corals are living animals. Tiny algae called zooxanthellae (zo-zan-THELL-ee) live in their tissues and use sunlight to produce food (a process called photosynthesis). Tropical coral reefs flourish in the clear, shallow waters that straddle the equator. Altogether, they cover less than one tenth of one percent of the ocean’s total area. But they house about one quarter of all marine species. Different kinds of corals live in the colder waters of the deep sea. One place to find them is on the hidden underwater peaks called seamounts.

Smithsonian Links

See a map showing the global distribution of coral reefs
Take a look at the living coral reef exhibit in the National Museum of Natural History
Learn about the Smithsonian’s coral reef model ecosystem and watch an underwater webcam

Links to Other Sites

Watch a National Geographic video about coral reefs
Find out more about deep sea corals
Tap into NOAA’s Coral Reef Information System

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Comments

i think this is a great site!!

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 10:53pm.

this is a great site what part about it is your favorite

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 08/18/2010 - 4:33pm.

Thanks! It's hard to pick favorites, but we are definitely fond of the Find Your Blue page. We hope it provides information that our visitors can use in their everyday lives.

Submitted by Ocean Portal Team on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 5:42pm.

these are awesome habitats but the algae that makes and gives them their food are leaving because the water temperatures are changing why are the water temperatures changing and what are they doing to help the coral reefs

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 08/18/2010 - 4:32pm.

It's true that many corals are bleaching (losing the algae that feed them) and getting sick because of higher temperatures. Some recover if the water temperature cools back down and they are not stressed by other problems like water pollution. Corals in some parts of the world can stand higher temperatures without bleaching, and scientists are studying them to see if they can learn lessons that will help other corals around the world.

Submitted by Ocean Portal Team on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 5:49pm.

Global Warming. The Ice Caps are melting as well.

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 1:52am.

wow cool... But I cant find enough info about ecosystems

someone

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 1:55am.
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