Coral reefs are structures produced by living organisms, found in shallow, tropical marine waters with little to no nutrients in the water. High nutrient levels such as that found in runoff from agricultural areas can harm the reef by encouraging the growth of algae. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals, colonial cnidarians that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate (limestone). The accumulation of skeletal material, broken and piled up by wave action and bioeroders, produces a massive calcareous formation that supports the living corals and a great variety of other animal and plant life. Although corals are found both in temperate and tropical waters, reefs are formed only in a zone extending at most from 30°N to 30°S of the equator; although the reef-forming corals do not grow at depths of over 30 m (100 ft) temperature has less of an effect on distribution but it is generally accepted that no corals exist in waters below 18°C (Wikipedia).

Corals are very unique in that one polyp (teeny tiny) is it's own animal. A coral head is made up of 1000s of polyps together in a community. A coral reef is made up of different corals and organisms. What is super cool is that there is another organism called zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae are microscopic dynoflagellate – algae- that live symbiotically with the coral. Symbiotic means they live together and are advantageous to each other. The algae provide photosynthetic food for the coral and a protective cover from sunlight and temperatures; in turn the coral provides protection and a structure for the zooxanthellae to live. The holes, cracks and crevices on coral reefs make great hiding places for small fish, crabs, shrimp, etc. Many fish and crabs can eat algae that grow on it – so it attracts even more animals. Once you look at the whole thing, you will see that a coral reef community has a high diversity of organisms – comparable to a rain forest!

Coming soon...

Please watch the following videos provided by the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SFCRI):

SEFCRI Educational 10-Minute Video (this will take about 45 minutes to download)

SEFCRI Educational 3-Minute Video (this will take about 10 minutes to download)

SEFCRI PSA 30-Second Video 1

SEFCRI PSA 30-Second Video 2

Coral Reef Education Kit

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) (the FDEP-CRCP manages SEFCRI) has developed a Coral Reef Education Kit. This DVD resource contains six folders:

Presentations - These are the various Power Point Presentations that were give at the Coral Reef Teacher Trainings.

Research - This folder contains peer reviewed coral reef research that is either general research or was conducted in the four-county SEFCRI region.

Activities - This folder contains 43 elementary, 69 middle and 49 high school activities.

Resources - This folder contains numerous resources ranging from basic information about the International Year of the Reef in 2008 and the International Coral Reef Symposium in July -08 to Power Points on stony coral identification.

Contact - This folder contains biographies and contact information for the presenters who gave Power Points at the coral reef teacher trainings.

SEFCRI Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and Videos - This folder contains a 30-second radio PSA, two 30-second television PSAs and a short 3-minute and 10-minute educational video (the ones above that you can click on).

If you are interested in obtaining one of these DVDs for your classroom or organization, have any questions regarding the kit, or have resources you would like added to this DVD, please contact Coral@dep.state.fl.us and tell them you found this information on the IGFA website.

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