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Great Barrier Reef
Located in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef and encompasses an area of 133,000 square miles.
476 Questions
Is the great barrier reef man made r natural?
No, they are made by polyps, which confusingly are also known as coral (but coral the reef is made of and the polyps are two different things).
This quote has been attributed to Lieutenant James Cook (not yet a Captain).
Why do people visit the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, is special for many reasons. It is the largest coral reef in the world, almost 2000km long, with its coral cays and islands spreading over 300,000 square kilometres. Considered one of the wonders of the natural world, the Reef is unique for being visible from Earth's orbit.
It was placed on the World Heritage List in 1981 because of all its colourful marine life and its unique ecosystem. The Great Barrier Reef is significant for its scientific value: the health of the Reef points to the health of the ocean, and the creeks and rivers that feed into it, as well as signifying the general effects of pollution. It is of considerable concern that numbers of unique species such as dugong and loggerhead turtles have declined significantly since the 1960s, largely due to human intervention. The Reef shelters many endangered species.
On an economic note, the Great Barrier Reef generates $AU2 billion in tourism dollars every year. All countries trade on their commodities, and tourism is one of Australia's. To lose the reef would be to lose an enormous source of trade for Australia.
Why is the great barrier reef considered to be such a wonder?
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia's greatest attractions and one of the world's seven natural wonders. It's also the most extensive h-eastern coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world. A coral reef is anp of mostly compacted coral, algae material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates. It provides a home to thousands of species of plants and animals. = Great Barrier Reef - Where Is It? = The Reef runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia and has been designated by the Australian Government as a Marine Park. It runs mostly in a north-south direction and spans a wide range of climates. The Great Barrier Reef is the only natural organism that is visible from space! = Great Barrier Reef - Aquatic Life = Few peeps can imagine the wide range of animals, plants and fish that live in, on and around the reef. Sea turtles, Octopi, thousands of tropical fish, jelly fish, sharks, sea snakes and sting rays are just a few of the creatures that call the reef home. Another frequent visitor to the reef is the elusive scuba-diving tourist. Try not to move to quickly around this creature - they startle easily. * http://www.kidzworld.com/article/4922-seven-natural-wonders-great-barrier-reef* http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/ * http://www.itsnature.org/natural-wonders/great-barrier-reef/
What is the absolute longitude and latitude of the great barrier reef?
Latitude is 18'S
Longitude 146.5' E
19oS and 148oE
How are coral reefs and hydrothermal vents the same?
Coral reefs and hydrothermal vents are similar because they both lie below the under water.
What is the fauna and flora of The Great Barrier Reef?
Fauna of the Great Barrier Reef includes:
- 1625 species of fish, including 1400 coral reef species
- More than 3000 species of molluscs (shells)
- 630 species of echinoderm (starfish, sea urchins)
- 14 breeding species of sea snakes
- 215 species of birds including 22 species of seabirds and 32 species of shorebirds
- Six species of marine turtle
- Marine mammals such as 30 species of whales and dolphins, as well as a sizable dugong population
- 133 species of sharks and rays
Where is the Great Barrier Reef north or south?
It depends upon your starting point. The Great Barrier Reef is south of the equator, and lies off the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Coral Sea.
What has the government do to try to stop destuction in the great barrier?
you can stop people from going there and touching the reef and it falling off or you can stop people from bothering the animals.
Why was the Great Barrier Reef marine park established?
It is not man made, but a natural feature. Natural features do not HAVE reasons- they ARE.
How decomposers work in the Great Barrier Reef?
There are many decomposers in coral reef but heres one a fan worm.The Main Decomposer is bacteria , a bacteria can live there because of chemosynthisis.There are many thousands of other decomposers which are in coral reef of course but heres a few fungi, worms, slugs, snails, starfish, crustaceans. And it is pretty easy to find some you should go see coral reef underwater.
What is the average salinity of the great barrier reef?
Reef corals exist in seawatersalinities ranging from 25 to 42 per cent. At the lower end of the salinity tolerance range, following storm and flood events, corals can be killed by 'freshwaters'. Symptoms of coral stress caused by lowered salinities include excessive mucous release and loss of zooxanthellae (bleaching). Salinity impacts to corals are increased by other flood related stresses such as sedimentation, turbidity and increased ultraviolet radiation exposure. For example, shallow reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Keppel Island region suffered almost complete mortality due to prolonged salinity stress following the 1991 Fitzroy River floods, and 50 per cent of the fringing reefs around Great Barrier Reef Snapper Island were killed by freshwater flood run-off in 1998.
What are the coordinates of the Great Barrier Reef?
The water temperature of the Great Barrier Reef varies between 22 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius (71 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit), depending on the season and on how far north one travels. As the reef extends for 2300 km down the coast of Queensland, it will tend to be warmer further north.
Winter temperatures do not change dramatically, as the majority of the reef is in tropical and subtropical waters, and coral requires a constant warm temperature range.
What do Red Bass eat in The Great Barrier Reef.?
here is a great food web for the great barrier reef, this is what i used for my assignment
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215502/gbrweb.html
:-) good luck!
Why is the Great Barrier Reef important to Queensland?
The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, is the largest coral reef in the world, almost 2000km long, with its coral cays and islands spreading over 300,000 square kilometres. It is unique and important to Queensland for several reasons.
It was placed on the World Heritage List in 1981 because of all its colourful marine life and its unique ecosystem. The Great Barrier Reef is significant for its scientific value: the health of the Reef points to the health of the ocean, and the creeks and rivers that feed into it, as well as signifying the general effects of pollution. It is of considerable concern that numbers of unique species such as dugong and loggerhead turtles have declined significantly since the 1960s, largely due to human intervention. The Reef shelters many endangered species.
On an economic note, the Great Barrier Reef generates $AU2 billion in tourism dollars every year. All countries trade on their commodities, and tourism is one of Australia's. To lose the reef would be to lose an enormous source of trade for Australia.
What omnivores are in the Great Barrier Reef?
the only one I know is Mullusks. the eat seaweed, coral, small fish, and other mullusks.
Does a great white shark live near a coral reef?
yes! they can also live in: Arctic, Central Pacific, South Pacific, Tropical Eastern Pacific, Chilean, Western North Atlantic, Caribbean, Amazonian, Argentinean, Eastern North Atlantic/Mediterranean, West African, Southern African, Central South Indian, Madagascaran, Arabian, Indian, South East Asian, Western Australian, Southeast Australian/New Zealand, Northern Australian, Japanese
What are the conservation efforts in the Great Barrier Reef?
Australia is banning fishing in some areas, also it is expanding the protected areas and Australians are preserving water and throwing trash in the right place also scientists are researching the ways coral bleaching occurs and how they might prevent it
What are some tourist attractions of the great barrier reef?
Scuba Diving, exploring the reef itself, fishing.
Why is the Great Barrier Reef a barrier?
The great barrier reef is being destroyed becuase of global warming, pollution and other factors. Most of it is due to people though.
Further information:
The Great Barrier Reef is not actually almost being destroyed. It does not even have an official listing of endangered: but it is shrinking, and it is unknown by how much.
Climate scientists who subscribe to the theory of anthropogenic global warming (i.e. caused by man's activities) predict that the Great Barrier Reef may lose up to 95% of its coral by the middle of the current century. Although the coastline parallel to the Great Barrier Reef has been settled by Europeans for less then 200 years, these scientists believe that the Reef has been shrinking by 20% every 100 years.
Climate scientists who subscribe to the theory that global warming is cyclical perhaps have a less drastic view, as they believe that the coral will regenerate, as it has done so in the past. Destruction and regeneration is all part of the reef's natural cycle. parts of tye northern Great Barrier Reef that have been damaged during a warming cycle have been found to regenerate after just twelve years.
However, it should be noted that pollution and chemical runoff pose a very real threat to the reef. The water quality of the reef is affected by sediment and nutrients, and 80% of this is caused by cattle grazing on the land adjacent to the reef. Mud and chemical runoff tend to limit the sunlight that reaches the coral, causing it to die off, and they increase the macro-algae, which is a weed.
Tourism is a threat to the reef, as tourist boats damage the delicate framework of the reef; fishing and pollution left behind by visitors also is a threat.
Barrier reefs begin as fringing reefs along the shores of a volcano. Then over millions of years the volcano sinks lower into the sea and the sea level rises around the volcano. The coral grows upwards to keep from getting too far from the sunlight at the sea surface. The outward side of the coral reef grows fastest, since ocean currents bring in the plankton that the corals feed on. The water on the landward side of the reef is still and there is less oceanic plankton. Here the reef is unable to grow fast enough to keep up with the rising sea level and is eventually drowned. A lagoon develops between the reef and the land, resulting in the characteristic barrier reef shape.
What is the most common barrier used on roads?
Traffic Cones.
Jersey Barriers.
Traffic Barrels.
Delineators.
Frame Barriers.
Why is Australia concerned about the protection of the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef, like any biome, supplies a unique niche for certain marine animals and plants. Slow destruction of the reef through pollution is resulting in the loss of numerous species. In caring for the Great Barrier Reef, one is helping to protect and preserve these species for future generations.
What kind of clothing should you bring to go to the coral reef?
I would say a man-kini because it will be the most comfortable thng and you will all so be abe to get a tan.
