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Coral reefs rely on photosynthesis to produce their food. This means that they are close to the sun so that the sun can help it produce food. The "deep ocean vents" or hydrothermal vents are 7,000 fett underwater and cannot use the sun for it's food. The vents in the water spew out chemicals that the animals and plants there use to survive. Since it's very, very dark, the animals have adapted to living in those conditions. Most animals have lights or are "bioluminescent" meaning that they have some kind of light in their body that can help them see. A well-known example of an animal that uses bioluminescence is a firefly.

ADDED. Essentially the difference is that between living and inert. The coral reef is built up of the exoskeletons of the polyp, a tiny animal. A hydrothermal vent is purely geological: a minerals deposit.

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7y ago

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