Coral Reefs, the fourth mystery

Coral reefs are amazing, they are colorful and full of life.


Coral organisms have a name, they are called polyps. Coral polyps are known because of the huge reefs they create by themselves, but they can live on their own.

They can expand easily but it takes some time, they arrive to an specific place, when they found a rock they attach to it and start creating hundreds of clones. Many thousands of years later, when polyps have expanded a lot, they get together with other polyps´ expansions and they finally form a huge coral reef.

coral bleaching

Coral polyps can live from 2 to hundreds of years, on the other hand, a coral polyp colony can live from 5 years to more than a century.

Coral reefs are located in tropical areas, were sun rays can reach the corals.

All coral reefs together cover only 1% of the ocean floor, but it provides refugees for 25% of marine life.

Climate change affects water temperature, and if water temperature rises corals start to bleach, this means they start dying. It is very important to keep them alive, since it provides home to many marine species.

Scientists estimate that pollution and other factors like global warming may kill over 30% of coral polyps in the next 3 decades.

sources: national geographic