Coral
One of the most important animals on earth.
Like trees in a forest, coral provides habitat for thousands of species living in shallow coastal oceans around he world. Coral is a living animal, although it may not look like it. This organism can build a coral skeleton that provides it protection from predators and the current. This skeleton is made of calcium carbonate and is the structural component that helps build the massive reefs that can be seen from space. In the photo on the wall, you are looking at a little polyp of many that make up the corals surface. Each polyp is an individual organism, although a clone of the polyp next door. These coral species reproduce both sexually with gametes and asexually through budding and propagation. Coral reefs are one of the most critically endangered ecosystems and organisms in the world and are threatened by habitat loss, pollution, over-exploitation and climate change.
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