Coral reef
The coral reef is a wonderful
biome to be in. You can find lots of pretty
reefs here! The largest coral reef is the Great Barrier Reef. Did you know that
this reef has over a 200 kinds of animals that live there? The Great Barrier
Reef is over 1,257 miles long. The Great Barrier is on the coast of Australia. The lowest zones are the coldest then the top
zones are the hottest since it is near the sun. Then the middle zone temperature
is the average pool temperature.
The elasmosaurus is an animal that might seem
like a mythical creature but does exist in the deepest part of the coral reef.
It is a fish eating reptile that has four flippers and a very long neck.
The pyramid butterfly fish
changes color at night . It is 7 inches long. Its relatives are the banner fish
and the family falls in the category of the chaetodontidae. The square spot
fish is also a relative of the banner fish.
Its scientific name is pseudanthias pleurotaenia. Its diet is tiny drifting animals .Its size
is 7in.
Another kind of fish found in a
coral reef is the bicolor anthias. They
all start out as females. This kind of fish
is called a hermaphrodite because is a dominant female that will eventually
become a male.
There are also many plants in the
coral reef. Mangroves are a kind of
plant that lives in the coral reef ecosystem. They live up on the top of the water. The fish
love to eat them a lot and it is good for the ocean.
Sea grass is considered a
flowering plant in the coral reef. In
many species the leaves are long and narrow, and these plants often grow
in large meadows. Manatees eat about 30
pounds of sea grass a day.
Fungi is a green plant that is a
really slimy plant but it is really healthy and good for the ocean . It helps
the sand or the things on the bottom of the ocean because the fungi helps
little sand creature hide from their predator .
This biome is a great place
because you can see all the animals in it the clear baby blue water. When you
see a coral reef, you can see the fish swim in circles because that is the
shape of the reef. If you go under the
water and see it for yourself these are just the basic animals and plants that
I have described. Most importantly, there are about a thousand more kinds of coral
reefs and more to be discovered .
