Out of Sight

The coral reef builds upwards, growing towards the light much like trees in a rainforest, competing for space and light. Once the coral reef reaches sea level it cannot survive the harsh surface conditions so begins to grow outwards. Creating spectacular formations of coral that spawn further growth and spreading of the reef ecosystem. Through time, animals grow and the sand, rubble and debris of life is broken down by waves and eroding animals, such as worms and sponges. A complex reef ecosystem is built over time. Today’s underwater gullies and caves were formed because of that erosion. These are the same formations scuba divers enjoy exploring today because they are shelters for an abundance of marine life. Coral reefs tend to grow where there is a lot of water movement, bringing nutrients, oxygen and new species. Most reef-building corals cannot grow in waters shallow enough to expose them at high tide or deeper than 50 metres, making them highly sensitive to changing sea levels. The Reef is continually evolving and changing as climate and sea levels change. Healthy, diverse reef ecosystems are more resilient, that is, they are able to adapt to change. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is concentrating on maximising reef resilience through research and management.

There are 23 species of marine reptiles that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef including 6 species of sea turtles and 17 species of sea snakes. Occasionally, the saltwater crocodile also ventures out to forage on the reef, although such visits are quite rare. The sea turtles that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef include the green turtle, loggerhead turtle, hawksbill turtle, flatback turtle, leatherback turtle and the Pacific ridley turtle. Some sea turtle species, such as the green turtle, loggerhead turtle and hawksbill turtle, nest on coral cays. The flatback turtle nests on continental islands and the green and leatherback turtles nest on mainland Australia. When not nesting, these sea turtle species use the waters of the Great Barrier Reef as foraging grounds. Among the sea snakes of the Great Barrier Reef are the olive sea snake, the turtle-headed sea snake and the sea krait. All sea snakes are venomous.

Four hundred species of coral have been found there, as well as 4,000 species of mollusk and 2,000 different kinds of fish.The Great Barrier Reef acts as a buffer between the strong waves of the Pacific and the shores of Australia.Many parts of the Great Barrier Reef have islands made of piled up coral sand.

Coral Bleaching - Coral reefs are fragile ecosystems and are extremely sensitive to water temperature; so, any changes can have an effect. When the ocean water temperature rises, it causes coral bleaching. That means that the symbiotic alga inside the coral polyps dies, which causes the polyps to turn white and eventually die. The reefs can recover from only a limited amount of bleaching before they are no longer able to recover.Shelter - Barrier reefs play an important role of sheltering the coastline from the full effect of the ocean’s waves. If the reef crumbles, the coastlines are exposed to damaging waves and the people there would have to deal with erosion and wave action, and low-lying structures could be at risk.

white to smokey-grey colour, with yellow tinged fur and patterned dark-grey to black rosettes and spots

The sagas provide little information about the ships the Vikings used to cross the Atlantic or to sail east. These

The sagas provide little information about the ships the Vikings used to cross the Atlantic or to sail east.

These

Currently Viewing: Home Butterfly Center Our Residents Owl Butterfly dramatic eyespots fool predators The Owl Butterflies from the rainforests of Central and South America are named for the dramatic eyespots on the underside of the lower wing, which look much like the large staring eyes of an owl.

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