Corals

The whole world relies on reefs, whose benefits are valued at about $9.8 trillion each year! Though they cover only 1% of the ocean floor, coral reefs are home to almost 25% of all ocean species! This includes a variety of plants, fish, whales etc. Additionally, reefs provide a home, act as a breeding ground, and protect many fish species from dangerous predators. Did you know that Nemo from ‘Finding Nemo’ also lived in a reef? If reefs didn’t exist, he wouldn’t have a home, a safety net or any family and friends.

Reefs directly and indirectly provide over one billion people all over the world with food. On one hand people can directly fish from reefs to get the seafood they need. On the other hand, reefs are home to a lot of important organisms in marine food webs. If these organisms died, fish all over the world would be affected. For example, seahorses eat krill found in coral reefs and the krill eat algae growing in the reef. If the reef died out, the krill would starve, causing the seahorses to starve, and the cycle continues.