Coral Reef Term paper
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The modern understanding of coral reefs begins in Charles Darwin’s book, On the
Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. In this classic book written in 1842, he
distinguished three main types of reef: the fringing reef, the barrier reef, and the atoll.
The fringing reef occurs near the shoreline and basically follows the profile of the
shore. Its stony corals need a firm base on which to establish themselves, and they must
compete with many other sedementary organisms looking for a firm substrate on which to
settle. In off-shore waters, that substrate is usually provided by the limestone secreted by
earlier stony corals on rock (often volcanic). However, if there is a firm, rocky base
present, as in fringing reefs, sedentary rivals can settle in great numbers without waiting
for reef-building corals to lay the foundations (Stafford-Deitsch 20). Thus, the stony
corals do not have to be the major constituents of the reef. Sponges, soft corals, and
corraline algae are abundant throughout the fringing reef.
Some of the finest fringing reefs in the world are along the edges of the Red Sea,
where the conditions are premier for the growth of the reef. The water is enclosed by
desert. Therefore, there is barely any rainfall to wash either the sand or fresh water into
the sea. Also, there are very little clouds in the area allowing sunlight to reach the surface,
resulting in much warmer water than one might think to find at this latitude. The reefs in
the Red Sea are some of the richest and most diverse. If one were to swim over the crest
(the open-water edge), one might panic being that the reef drops drastically into unknown
depths. Thus, not allowing wave action to stir up much sediment which would damage
the reef being that the sediment settles below the reach of the waves. Little sediment at
the top of the reef causes water to be clear, maximizing the amount of sunlight that
reaches the reef (Stafford-Deitsch 21).
The second type of reef according to Darwin is the barrier reef. It is different than
the fringing reef in one main way: the area between the living coral of a fringing reef and
the shore is the reef flat, but the area between the barrier reef and the shore is a lagoon
(Stafford-Deitsch 21). The lagoon is a relatively shallow area of water, only a few meters
in depth. However, its width can be enormous as in Australia’s...
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