Florida Coral Reef

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What is a coral reef? "It's created by a community of organisms which produce calcuium carbonate (CaCO3).  Together these coral animals use their calcium carbonate to build and underwater city over the course of thousands of years."  -Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Website Coral reefs are one of the oldest ecosystems in the world. If we do not stop destroying the coral reefs they will all be gone by 2050 Information about the Florida Coral Reef: It's the largest in North American and the third largest barrier coral reef in the world (Australia's is # 1, and Belize is # 2). The warm water from the Gulf Stream to expand the range of corals north to the tropics.  Here are a few specific physical requirements of a coral reef:  Stable temperature- 18-30 degrees Celsius Stable open ocean salinity- 33-36 parts per thousand High oxygen - 5.0- 7.0 milligrams per liter There are 6,000 coral reefs, which create the entire Florida Coral Reef. Picture of Florida's Coral Reef & More Important Information Florida's Environmental Protection Agency Animals in the Florida Coral Reef: Fish Endangered Species Coral Mangroves(click link in the tool bar to the left, labeled Mangroves) Seagrass (click link in the tool bar to the left, labeled Seagrass)