Diversity strengthens the coral reef

The more species, the more survival systems

Hard corals produce lime stone and turn it into homes.

Stack on top of the other, millions of corals form a gigantic reef.

Coral reef protect most of the tropical coast.

Doctors use calcium carbonate from corals to mend broken bones.

When we are sick, chemical compounds from the reef can cure us.

three hundred million people depend on the fish from the reef.

Regulated fishing helps keep a reef healthy.

Ocean warming is a major cause of the dying of coral reefs at an unprecedented rate.

Potato cod is a fish with potato-like smudges on its skin.

Vegetarian fish nibble away seaweeds that smother corals. If too much of these fish are removed, corals
will die.

Overfishing destroys reefs.

Species benefit each other.

Gobi fish share homes with bulldozer shrimp. Their relationship is because of mutualism and parasitism.

Fish protect corals while corals provide homes for the fishes.

A smaller fish swims right in the mouth of the potato cod to feed on parasites

Cooperation between species sustains life in the reef, but sometimes the cooperation is invisible.

The coral's most important partner are tiny microscopic algae that live in the tissues of the corals. This
algae use sunlight to produce sugar which is the primary food source that provides the corals with energy
to build reefs.

Most corals cannot survive with helper algae.

Higher temperatures in the oceans worldwide threatens this partnership.

Even a slight increase in temp can drive the algae out.

Without this food source, the coral becomes pale white.

If the algae don't return, the coral starves.

Reef can become very much damaged by ocean warming.

Octopus traps their food when they reach out their eight tentacles and make a tent-like thing.

When tropical rainforests are cut down, the rivers turn muddy with silt.

At the mouth of the river, the silt blocks the sunlight that is necessary for the corals to grow. This process
is called siltation.

Siltation doesn't become a problem when there are mangrove trees. Their roots trap silt thereby protecting
the reefs.

Many fish use the mangroves as a nursery to protect the young.

Chemical compounds from coral reefs provide relief from chronic pain, ease childbirth and extend the life
of AIDS patients.

Corals share their food and some even share the same stomach.

sea cucumber eats the waste thus clean up the reef.

yellow damselfish guard their eggs before they hatch.

Deep diving is very dangerous which can result to Decompression sickness.

Corals that live in deep waters do not depend on sunlight but they thrive.

the disappearance of sharks in the reef system could signal and imbalance.

The existence of sharks in a reef system signal a healthy reef.