Coral+reef+-+Ali

Great barrier reef **
 * Australian

Average Temperature Summer: 77˚-91˚ Winter: 57˚-77˚ It is a wet tropic climate with only two seasons. Green and dry 75% of the rainfall falls in the green season.

The Great Barrier Reef is an all natural wonder of the world. The Great Barrier Reef is in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensboro in the northeast Australia. It is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.  There is 300 days of sunshine per year, so you need sun block, hat and sunglasses. The water is warm enough to swim all year around, so bring your swimsuit. Pack your scuba gear, hiking shoes, and don't forget you camera. In this tropical paradise you will see an abundance of wildlife including birds, tree frogs, ocean life, and wild animals. The area is surrounded by mountains and overlooks the coral sea.
 * The Great Barrier Reef**

The tranquility of this destination will leave you mesmerized by the beautiful blue waters. There are many things to do, like white water rafting, diving, boat tours, 4-wheeling in the rainforest and horseback riding. The most famous attraction is the museum of Tropical Queenland is the Pandora exibit, it tells the story of the ill fated Pandora her crew and the prisoners.   They are soft bodied animals with a sack like body and eight arms covered with suckers. The blue ring octopus eats wounded fish and invertebrates. Whales, moray eels, birds, and barracudas are all predators of the the blue ring octopus but the octopus can defend themselves from being harmed by changing color and blending into their enviornment and they can also hide from them by fitting into small places.  Lion Fish- ** 
 * Blue Ring Octopus- [[image:http://techhouse.brown.edu/~spg/blueringed.jpg width="184" height="124" align="left"]] **
 * 

Brightly colored fish usually found in coral reefs. The lion fish have venomous spines that can produce painful puncture wounds. Fatalities are rare with this fish. They are carnivores. Large eels, frogfish and other scorpion fish are predators of the lionfish. 


 * The Crown-of-Thorns Sea stars- [[image:http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/9/9c/220px-Crown_of_Thorns-jonhanson.jpg width="205" height="127" align="left"]] **

These cause terrible damage to the coral reefs it is only found in this habitat and a native species of Australian waters. The Sea stars eats coral polyps. puffer fish, giant triton shell, and shrimp feed off of Crown-of-thorns sea stars.

Sea Grasses- ** <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">

They have true roots and are the only flowering plants in the sea. They are a food source for turtles and dugongs. Sea grass meadows are so extensive they can be seen from a space shuttle orbiting earth. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Algae- **<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> [[image:http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/pressreleases/images/Line_Islands_Coral_web.jpg width="213" height="132" align="left"]]

They are marine plants that are different from land plants because they have no roots, or stems and true leaves. Algae are the basis of most marine food chains. They are predators of many animals.
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Corals polyp- ** <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">

Corals begin life in tropical waters as free-floating larvae and later attach to rocks on the ocean floor. The coral polyp consists of tentacles, a mouth and a gut. They are nocturnal feeders and they eat sugars made by their photosynthetic zooanthellae during the day.
 * Dugong-[[image:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/images/070823-dugongs_big.jpg width="208" height="112" align="left"]]**

Dugongs are large grey mammals that spend their entire lives in the sea. They eat underwater grasses day and night. Tiger sharks tend to be attracted to where dugongs live and feed off of them.

Invasive species- ** <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">//__Crown of the thorns starfish__// destroys the corals which make up the reefs. They are made up of spines which are very sharp and have a toxic reaction to humans. It is also the largest starfish in the world. This starfish is a predator to other living animals. It finds the corals and sucks the polyp tissue out and leaves the coral as a skeleton. They are known to leave some areas of the coral reefs completely dead. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Puerto Rico has exceptional coral reefs. They both share the effects of overfishing and bleaching. The lion fish is a major threat in the Caribbean seas coral reefs. Other different types of sea life in the Caribbean are lobsters, squid, and crabs. Weather temperatures are the same 75˚-90˚ year round.
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 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Adjacent Biome- **

**Bibliography** Carlos, D. (2008, February 21). //The encylopedia of the earth//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from Seagrass meadows: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Seagrass_meadows // Great Barrier Reef //. (2001-2008). Retrieved November 1, 2008, from getaway guide: http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com/the-great-barrier-reef/reefmap.htm Jeffrey, J. (2008). //Ocean World//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from Ocean World Web site: http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/coral1.htm Jennifer, H. (1998-2008). //How the Great Barrier Reef Works//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from How stuff Works: http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/great-barrier-reef.htm Jennifer, S. (2008). //Jennifer E. Smith's Research//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from nceas: http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~jsmith/JenniferSmith-Research.htm Jonathan, R. (n.d.). //Blue-ringed Octopus//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from Techhouse: http://techhouse.brown.edu/~spg/blueringed.html KunstlerJames. (2008). //Treehugger//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from Discovery company: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/killer_starfish.php Pete, A. (2008). //National Geographic//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from National Geographic News: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/61082026.html Peter, R. (2007, July 27). //The Great Great Barrier Reef Swindle//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from AEF online: http://www.aefweb.info/articles61.html Tim, k. (1996-2008). //Lionfish Photos//. Retrieved November 1, 2008, from homepage.mac: http://homepage.mac.com/wildlifeweb/fish/lionfish/lionfish01.html