Coral Reef Ocean Floor Underwater Plants

Some coral reefs are so large they are even visible from outer space.

Coral reef ocean floor underwater plants.

Coral reefs are amazing habitats. Sea weed is the plants in the coral reef that is edible to eat. Residing within the coral s tissues the microscopic algae are well protected and make use of the coral s metabolic waste products for photosynthesis the process by which plants make their own food. Usually you will find sea weed in the depth between 8 m to 40 m but there are some species that could be found in the depth of 250 m.

With its extensive reef tract florida keys national marine sanctuary protects more than 50 species of coral including the federally protected staghorn and elkhorn corals. Reefs in danger corals may look like rocks or plants but they are actually animals in the same family as jellyfish and anemones. The coral species that build reefs are known as hermatypic or hard corals. Each individual coral is called a polyp and the reef grows as.

You can find sea weed all around the world and up to now there is no known poisoned sea weed. Easy acrylic painting lesson by angela anderson. Coral reefs are large underwater structures composed of the skeletons of colonial marine invertebrates called coral. There are many common types of sea grass including manatee grass turtle grass and shoal grass all of which are varieties of a land plant that has evolved over the years in order to survive in salt water.

Encrusting coralline algae directly and often extensively cover geologic substrate. Most corals contain algae called zooxanthellae pronounced zo uh zan thuh lay which are plant like organisms. Scientists estimate that more than one million species of plants and animals are associated with coral reef ecosystems. Seagrass is a rooted plant that requires a lot of light to thrive along the shallow waters of our world s coastlines.

The national park service has ten parks with coral reefs. Offering vibrant colors and the greatest biodiversity of any marine ecosystem on the planet. Many people consume it as delicacy such as nori. The benthic assemblage is composed of other algal species e g filamentous and foliose functional groups articulated corallines and sessile organisms along the ocean bottom.

They are a deep water coral that make their homes in caves and other dark underwater spaces. But coral reefs only occupy less than one tenth of one percent of the ocean floor.