*

We have heard a company

wants to fish in the reef. This
is something to think about:
What would happen if the
reefs had no more fish?
The coral reef is an ecosystem that includes a collection of biological
communities, representing one of the most complicated ecosystems
in the world. For this reason, coral reefs are often referred to as the
Rainforests of the Oceans.
The Great
Barrier
Reef
Coral reefs house millions and millions of life,
so much we cant express it. Without them,
there will be a tremendous amount of habitat
and nourishment loss. Many animals depend on
the reef. There are so many endangered
marine animals. If the reefs are gone, what
will happen to them? Will our beautiful
underwater world survive? What will happen to
our planet if the ocean is destroyed?
There are many things that humans do. Many can destroy
nature. Humans pollute, ship, dredge, and do many other
harmful things to this wonderful watery world. And as humans
continue to contribute to global warming, the rising
temperature can reduce huge reefs to only a tiny fraction of
what it used to be.
For the predator and prey, the corals polyp have tentacles that
pull sea animals to the mouth. There are also stingers that
paralyze corals prey. The prey are usually small, but there are
also bigger fish that the corals eat too.


Sometimes, people fish too much in certain
areas, so there are not enough fish to eat and
feed other organisms. When there are not
enough fish, the food webs balance (see
below) will be disrupted, as fish are a main
source of food. Also, the organisms they eat
could overpopulate.
The energy pyramid is a precarious thing. There
are less predators and more prey. If there is
too little prey, then the few predators will not
have enough food. So the predators will die out
before the fish can repopulate again. ( See the
energy pyramid below.)




Tertiary Consumers
(least)

Secondary Consumers
(more less)

Primary Consumers
(less)

Producers (most)






The Australian Great Barrier Reef stretches over
3000km, almost parallel to the Queensland coast,
from near Bundaberg, up past the tip of Cape York.
The reef, between 15 kilometres and 150 kilometres
off the shore and around 65 kilometres wide in
some parts, is a gathering of brilliant, vivid coral,
providing divers with the most spectacular
underwater experience ever imagined.
The animals in the coral reef include sponges,
nudibranchs, dolphins, reef sharks, clown fish, eels,
parrotfish, snapper, scorpion fish, jellyfish,
anemones, sea stars, sea snakes and other animals.
There are interesting types of plants in the reefs. A
few are seagrasses (Halophila and Halodule),
zooxanthellae and even seaweed! These plants often
grow close together and serve as an all-you-can-eat
buffet for many herbivores, such as dugongs,
manatees, sea turtles and sea urchins.

This is a picture of a starfish among
kelp.
Well, many coral reefs are at risk. If you take
away the fish, the animals will perish.
Hey, this is how
the sea will look
like if Fabulous
Fishing Co. does
its work.
http://www.greatbarrierreef.org
http://water.epa.gov
https://www.google.com.hk
http://wwf.panda.org
http://www.ecokids.ca
http://school.eb.com
http://www.reef.crc.org.au
http://www.livescience.com
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov
http://www.exploringnature.org