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Coral Reef Ecosystem

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educational resource
submitted on 2025-01-29, 06:59 and posted on 2025-02-02, 15:45 authored by Dr. Aspa Chatziefthimiou, Ruba Hinnawi, Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, Sebastien P. Turbot, Dr. Alexandre Amato, Nihal. Mohamed Al-Saleh, Dr. Mona Matar Al-Kuwari, Jessica Bowmeester

As we move from the open Arabian Gulf towards land, the first ecosystem we stumble upon is the colorful coral reef. Coral reefs are distributed 30 degrees on either side of the equator and are prime real estate in the marine environment because they provide shelter and nursery grounds in their nooks and crannies.

They also offer an abundance of food resources amidst an otherwise bare sea floor. Twenty five percent (25%) of all the living marine organisms known to humans live in coral reefs, each with their own life history and function, making coral reefs biodiversity hotspots.

Corals themselves, are small animals. At the beginning of their life-cycle, fertilized coral embryos develop into pelagic larvae, freely floating in seawater. When the larvae find a suitable substrate, they quickly attach and metamorphoze into coral polyps. Polyps replicate to form colonies that with time become coral reefs. This is the reason we call corals ecosystem engineers, because they help construct a whole vibrant ecosystem one polyp at a time.

Other Information

Published in: Earthna publications reports
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
See educational resource on publisher's website: https://www.earthna.qa/publications/educational-materials/qatar-marine-ecosystem-lesson-plans


Project Identifier (PI): EEF-2023-003

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

Earthna in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC)

Publication Year

  • 2023

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • Earthna
  • Qatar Foundation
  • Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
  • Qatar Green Building Council

Geographic coverage

Arabian Gulf