Corals - NOAA Fisheries
WEBCorals are animals that "take root" on the ocean floor and can live in shallow waters or the deepest ocean canyons. They create underwater habitats that support more species than any other marine environment. Learn more about corals and what they do.
Deep-sea Corals - Smithsonian Ocean
WEBUsing a technique known as multibeam sonar, ocean scientists working at the surface can now create 3-D maps of the ocean floor below. These detailed images enable scientists to locate areas where deep-sea corals might be found and to learn more about the conditions under which these corals live.
Coral Reefs and Corals - Smithsonian Ocean
WEBReefs form when corals grow in shallow water close to the shore of continents or smaller islands. The majority of coral reefs are called fringe reefs because they fringe the coastline of a nearby landmass. But when a coral reef grows around a volcanic island something interesting occurs.
Coral reef ecosystems - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
WEBFeb 1, 2019 · Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coral polyps, the animals primarily responsible for building reefs, can take many forms: large reef building colonies, graceful flowing fans, and even small, solitary organisms.
Coral Reefs - National Geographic Society
WEBJul 18, 2024 · Coral reefs are important ocean habitats and offer a compelling case of the risks of climate change. Reefs provide a large fraction of Earth’s biodiversity —they have been called “the rainforests of the seas.”
Coral - National Geographic Society
WEBJul 18, 2024 · There are about 6,000 species of coral around the world, with some species growing in warm shallow waters near coastlines and others thriving on the dark, cold seafloor of the open ocean. Though coral may look like a colorful plant growing from roots in the seafloor, it is actually an animal.
Corals - National Geographic
WEBCoral reefs teem with life, covering less than one percent of the ocean floor, but supporting about 25 percent of all marine creatures.
Deep-Sea Corals - NCCOS Coastal Science Website
WEBDeep-sea corals grow in extreme conditions, far offshore in cold, acidic waters where changing ocean conditions can be difficult to detect. Warming oceans threaten deep water communities because they are stenothermal (intolerant of temperature fluctuations), adapted to stable cold-water conditions.
Coral reefs: Essential and threatened | National Oceanic and ...
WEBHealthy coral reefs and their habitats are important to life in the ocean and on land. Fish, corals, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges and sea turtles are only a few of the thousands of creatures that rely on reefs for their survival, but so do humans.
Coral Forests of the Deep | Ocean Today - National Oceanic and ...
WEBDeep-sea corals can live for hundreds to thousands of years, feeding directly on microscopic animals. They've been found throughout the ocean on the rocky sea floor, in canyons, and on continental slopes.