Unknown to many people, one branch of coral is made up of thousands of little animals called coral polyps that work mutually with a type of algae called Zooxanthellae. The coral polyp will provide protection for the algae and the algae will return the favor by providing food and removing waste. In addition, Zooxanthellae also gives the coral its color and provides oxygen. Although the coral polyp can hunt for its own food, about 90% of its energy comes from the food the algae creates. The algae is essential to the survival of the polyp but the algae cannot survive for long without the polyp.

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. According to the NOAA, more than 25% of fish depend on it. Coral reefs are like the cities and the buildings in the city are Coral and the fish are the residents. It takes about 10,000 years for a complete Coral Reef and the ecosystem to form which makes it rather rare; it occupies less than 1% of the ocean floor and has very specific and has very specific conditions in order for the coral to flourish.

Coral bleaching is when the coral polyp secretes the Zooxanthellae algae which causes the coral to loose its color. Usually this happens because the coral is stressed from the following: the change in ocean temperature, an overwhelming amount of pollutants (poisoned algae), an overexposure to sunlight, or extremely low tides. Bleaching leaves the coral in an extremely vulnerable state where it starves itself to death because its main food source is gone.

In short, coral are animals that create a habitat which is one of the Earth's most diverse ecosystem even though it is less than 1% of the ocean floor. 25% of ocean creatures dwell in coral reefs.

If all the coral in the world died, the reefs will erode and the spawning and feeding grounds for the fish living in coral reefs would disappear. We don't know exactly what would happen to the animals living there but we know the whole ecosystem that the coral reefs have created would be destroyed. Nature spent so long to create a balance between animals in the ocean and if the coral reefs were destroyed, hundreds and thousands of years of evolution and species of fish could disappear; we might never have the chance to learn about some types of fish. The death of coral reefs would cause an epidemic for all marine life and the food chain and circle of life would be extremely unbalanced.

In addition, the loss of coral can effect our economy. According to the NOAA, there are about four ways the coral reefs currently have a positive effect on our economy. The first is tourism. For example, 60% of all tourists who go to Hawaii are reef visitors and we can assume it's very similar for a lot of other places with coral reefs like Cairns, Australia. Without coral reefs, many businesses that rely on tourists like tour guide ones and maybe hotels would close down and leave many people without a job. Secondly is the idea of food. Many commercially important fish species like like grouper and snapper come from coral reefs as well as lobster. With no coral reefs, it might be hard to keep up the sustainable fisheries and get the fish humans love to eat. Another thing coral reefs provide might be new types of medicine. The organisms that live there give scientists opportunities to try to create something from nature that could save humankind. Lastly, coral reefs are natural wave breakers. They prevent or weaken floods, property damage, erosion, and loss of lives. Now we know that we have a lot of thank from the coral reefs.