Corals - Marine life in El Nido
Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Housing tens of thousands of marine species, one-third of all marine fish live part of their lives on coral reefs.
Marine life in El Nido - Corals - What are they?
Marine life in El Nido – Corals – An individual coral is a polyp. It is a very small and simple organism consisting mostly of a stomach topped by a tentacle-bearing mouth. They typically live in compact colonies of many identical individuals. Some polyps species are important reef builders that inhabit Philippines waters. They secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. Corals are animals related to jellyfish and anemones. Some species polyps extend their tentacles at night to sting and ingest plankton and other small creatures. Most corals obtain their nutrients from photosynthetic unicellular algae.
Genus: Anthozoa
Depth: typically at shallower than 60 metres (200 ft).
Diet: From Photosynthes or microscopic demersal plankton to small fish
Size: Corals typically live in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps
Corals - Important for the marine life!
Coral reefs are found all around the world in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are usually in shallow areas at a depth of less than 60 meters (200 feet) where the sun\’s rays can reach the algae. Coral reefs cover less than 0.2% of our oceans and they contain 25% of the world\’s marine fish species! They are second only to rainforests in biodiversity of species. Despite how important coral reefs are to life in the ocean, all of them in the world add up to less than one percent of the sea floor. This is an area about the size of France.
Corals - Coral Guardians
However, threats to their existence abound, and scientists estimate that human factors—such as pollution, global warming, and sedimentation—could kill 30 percent of the existing reefs in the next 30 years. It urgently requires a program to preserve the reefs and their biodiversity in Philippines and all around Asia.
Coral Guardian is a non-profit conservation, education, and research organization with funding from individual contributors. They help develop the biodiversity of marine ecosystems in Indonesia. They protect and repopulate damaged reef areas through coral reefs conservation programs such as coral reef restoration projects. You can even adopt your own coral here!