Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Vibrant photographs and descriptive text guide readers on an underwater journey through coastal waters to explore coral reefs. Home to more than one million kinds of plants, fish, and other ocean life, readers will discover how living things meet their needs for shelter, food, and more in this dynamic ecosystem.
Coral reefs are beautiful underwater cities that bustle with excitement and activity. From clown fish to spiny lobsters, hundreds of plants and animals live on coral reefs, making them one of nature's greatest treasures. What happens during a typical day in these marine metropolises? Read and find out!
A young girl gets quite a surprise when the text of a library book she is reading transforms her surroundings into those of a teeming-with-life coral reef!
This title will introduce readers to coral reef ecosystems, the plants and animals that thrive there, its climate, its food web, any threats to it, and conservation efforts. Readers will also learn about the most well known coral reefs and their unique characteristics. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
What is life like in a coral reef? What do corals eat? Why are corals more colorful at nighttime? Learn about some of the most beautiful locations in the natural world Marine biologists believe coral reefs existed 400 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Today this active environment is home to about 20,000 kinds of brilliantly colored corals, plants, and animals--more sea creatures than are found anywhere else in the world. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is so large that astronauts can see it from outer space! Children in early elementary grades will enjoy Gibbon's informative text and clear, detailed illustrations on this journey into the unique lives of coral reefs.
Coral reefs are the largest landforms built by plants and animals. Their study therefore incorporates a wide range of disciplines. This encyclopedia approaches coral reefs from an earth science perspective, concentrating especially on modern reefs. Currently coral reefs are under high stress, most prominently from climate change with changes to water temperature, sea level and ocean acidification particularly damaging. Modern reefs have evolved through the massive environmental changes of the Quaternary with long periods of exposure during glacially lowered sea level periods and short periods of interglacial growth. The entries in this encyclopedia condense the large amount of work carried out since Charles Darwin first attempted to understand reef evolution. Leading authorities from many countries have contributed to the entries covering areas of geology, geography and ecology, providing comprehensive access to the most up-to-date research on the structure, form and processes operating on Quaternary coral reefs.
This book covers in one volume materials scattered in hundreds of research articles, in most cases focusing on specialized aspects of coral biology. In addition to the latest developments in coral evolution and physiology, it presents chapters devoted to novel frontiers in coral reef research. These include the molecular biology of corals and their symbiotic algae, remote sensing of reef systems, ecology of coral disease spread, effects of various scenarios of global climate change, ocean acidification effects of increasing CO2 levels on coral calcification, and damaged coral reef remediation. Beyond extensive coverage of the above aspects, key issues regarding the coral organism and the reef ecosystem such as calcification, reproduction, modeling, algae, reef invertebrates, competition and fish are re-evaluated in the light of new research and emerging insights. In all chapters novel theories as well as challenges to established paradigms are introduced, evaluated and discussed. This volume is indispensible for all those involved in coral reef management and conservation.
Coral Reef Fishes is the successor of The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs. This new edition includes provocative reviews covering the major areas of reef fish ecology. Concerns about the future health of coral reefs, and recognition that reefs and their fishes are economically important components of the coastal oceans of many tropical nations, have led to enormous growth in research directed at reef fishes. This book is much more than a simple revision of the earlier volume; it is a companion that supports and extends the earlier work. The included syntheses provides readers with the current highlights in this exciting science. * An up-to-date review of key research areas in reef fish ecology, with a bibliography including hundreds of citations, most from the last decade * Authoritative and provocative chapters written to suggest future research priorities * Includes discussions of regulation of fish populations, dispersal or site fidelity of larval reef fishes, sensory and motor capabilities of reef fish larvae, and complexities of management of reef species and communities
"Welcome to the coral reef--a giant city under the sea. Here you'll discover how tiny coral polyps form stony skeletons that become large 'buildings' rising up from the ocean floor. You'll also find out how clownfish, parrotfish, and other colorful residents depend on the reef--and on one another--to survive"--P. [4] of cover.
Karen Patkau takes readers on an amazing voyage of discovery to find out • How coral reefs form • Why coral reefs bustle and teem with life • Why there are more kinds of living things on coral reefs than anywhere else in the sea • What the types of hard corals are • Which plants and animals attach themselves to coral reefs • How coral reefs protect shorelines • How coral reefs help develop natural harbors and beaches • Where the coral reef areas of the world are • Why we need coral reefs
