Sreenath, K R and Anto, Alvin and Raju, Aju K (2024) Scleractinian corals. In: Training Manual on "Know Your Marine Biodiversity and Environment (MarBiE 2)" Taxonomy of Marine Organisms. CMFRI Training Manual Series (41). ICAR- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, pp. 42-49.
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Abstract
The tropical regions of the oceans are often referred to as the "oceanic deserts" because they share similarities with terrestrial deserts, characterized by barrenness and relatively low productivity. The reason for this phenomenon is that the surface waters of the tropical oceans are so warm. Thus they tend to float on top of the colder water underneath, inhibiting nutrient upwelling from the deep which brings nutrients to the ocean surface. Nevertheless, coral reefs stand out as a remarkable exception to the typical scarcity of life in tropical oceans, earning them the title of "oases" within the oceanic deserts. If we consider the area of coral reefs, it comprises less than 0.2% of the world's ocean, yet it is home to a wide array of marine organisms. Karlson and Cornell (1999) note that when considering the entire marine ecosystem, coral reefs exhibit the greatest diversity per unit area. It is estimated that almost 4-5% of all species or about 91,000 are found on coral reefs. We can find 32 out of 34 recognized animal phyla in coral reefs where there are only 9 phyla in the tropical rainforests (Porter and Tougas, 2001). Although corals are found in polar and temperate waters, coral reefs only develop in the tropics. This is primarily because there are two types of corals: hermatypic corals, which produce reefs, and ahermatypic corals, which do not form reefs. While ahermatypic corals have a worldwide distribution, hermatypic corals are found only in the tropics.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Biodiversity; Corals |
| Subjects: | Marine Ecosystems > Coral Reefs Marine Biodiversity Marine Ecosystems > Coral Reefs > Taxonomy |
| Divisions: | CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Biodiversity, Environment and Management Division Subject Area > CMFRI > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Biodiversity, Environment and Management Division CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Biodiversity, Environment and Management Division Subject Area > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Biodiversity, Environment and Management Division |
| Depositing User: | Arun Surendran |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Jun 2024 06:23 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Jun 2024 06:23 |
| URI: | http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/id/eprint/18508 |
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