Coral Reef Research & Lessons

What is a Coral Reef?

Coral reefs are large underwater structures made up of millions of tiny animals
called coral polyps. Coral polyps look like plants but are in fact simple animals.
They have a soft tube like body with a mouth surrounded by long tentacles. The
tentacles grab its food.

Coral reefs grow in warm tropical seas where the temperature of the water stays
above 65 degrees F. Most reefs lie near the equator in shallow waters (usually 100
feet deep or less). Coral reefs are sometimes called the “rainforest of the sea”
because of the enormous diversity of plants and animals.

Find the locations of coral reefs around the world by doing a quick internet
search.

Hard Coral vs. Soft Corals

Hard corals are so named because they have a stony bases and/or hard outer
skeletons. Hard corals live on the seafloor and on slopes. They feed only at night
and are bright and colorful during feeding. Hard corals are reef building corals.
See information below in How a Reef is Formed.

Soft corals do not have stony bases or outer skeletons; they are soft. They grow
on overhangs and cliffs and feed during the day. They are very bright and colorful.

How a Reef is Formed

When the hard coral polyps die, their skeletons are left behind. New polyps attach
to the skeletons and when these new polyps die, their skeletons add another
layer. So a reef is built over a long period of time and consists of layers and layers
of coral polyp skeletons.

Speaking of Skeletons
Your skeleton is on the inside of your body; your body made your bones by using
minerals from the foods you eat.

A hard coral’s skeleton is on the outside of its body. It is made by using chemicals
it takes in from the seawater.
Our Reefs are Disappearing
Sadly, our coral reefs have been disappearing. It has been estimated that we have
lost 20% of the coral reefs in the world in the last 20 years. Several factors are
contributing to the loss. Unfortunately, much of the blame is put on humans.

1) Over Fishing
When too many of a particular species are removed from a reef, it can upset the
balance of the food web at the reef and can cause parts of the reef to eventually
die out.

2) Water Pollution
Chemical runoff from pesticides and fertilizers eventually make it to the oceans.
Many chemicals are poisonous to the creatures who live in the oceans and on the
reefs.

3) Boat Anchors
Anchors thrown from boats by careless captains break up the reef bit by bit.

4) Souvenirs
Coral reefs are fascinating places for divers and snorkelers to visit. It is a huge
industry and brings in many millions of dollars to countries near reefs. However,
many tourists touch the reef or try to break off pieces for souvenirs.

Why are Coral Reefs Important to Us?

Besides being one of the most beautiful and fascinating places on Earth, coral
reefs are important to humans for many reasons.

1) Protection
Many reefs provide barriers to the coast against incoming waves. Without the
reefs, shorelines would erode more quickly.

2) Medicines
Many drugs and medicines have been developed from substances collected from
coral reefs. If the reefs disappear, we will lose a very important medical resource.

3) Food
 The coral reef teems with life. The reef provides food to many people all over the
world. Of course we have to be careful never to overfish or take too many of a
single species from the reef.

4) Tourism Dollars
Countries located near coral reefs depend upon money generated from tourists
who come to visit the reef. Without those tourists, many local people would lose
their jobs.

Can your child think of other reasons?

Types of Reefs
Atolls are circular reefs with a lagoon in the center. They are usually far from the
coastline.

Fringing Reefs are found close to the shore of islands and coastlines. The water
between the reef and the shore is shallow.

Barrier Reefs lie farther away from shore. The water between the reef and the
shore is deeper (up to 100 feet) and forms a lagoon

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and perhaps the most famous reef in the
world. It is located in the Coral Sea off the northeastern coast of Australia and is
home to about 340 kinds of coral and more than 2,200 species of fish. The Great
Barrier Reef is more than 1,200 miles long but it is not actually one reef. It is
actually many, many (about 3,000) smaller reefs located close together.

What Makes a Fish a Fish?

Fish are important creatures that live on the coral reef. But not all creatures that
live on the reef are fish. So how do we know which creatures are fish?

If you asked 30 children “What is a fish?” You would probably get 30 completely
different answers. We all have different ideas of what a fish is? However, most
fish do share some common characteristics.

A fish is a vertebrate which means it has a backbone and an internal skeleton.

Most fish live underwater and breathe with gills. Most fish have scales and they
swim using fins. Most fish lay jellylike eggs.

Fish Defenses
There are many different ways that fish protect themselves from predators on the
reef. Here are just a few:

Black Spots
Some fish have black spots toward the backs of their bodies. Predators mistake it
for their eyes and attack the wrong end of the fish allowing the fish to escape.

Black Stripes
Some fish have black stripes covering their eyes leaving predators wondering
which end to attack.

Poisonous Stingers
Some fish have poisonous stingers to protect themselves from predators.

Camouflage
Some fish have special features which allow them to blend very well in their
environments.

Schools
Some fish travel in groups, called schools, for protection. Large schools of moving
fish often confuse their predators.

Appearing Larger
Some fish are able to “inflate” themselves which makes them appear larger and
possibly too large for a predator to eat.

Food Chain
There are three levels to every food chain.

The first or bottom level consists of plants. Plants are called primary producers.
They make their own food through by using energy from the sun.

The second level is made up of herbivores or animals that eat plants. Herbivores
are called primary consumers because they are the first group to consume food,
or eat the primary producers or plants.

The third or top level consists of carnivores or animals that eat other animals.
Carnivores are called secondary consumers because they are the second group in
the food chain to eat food. Carnivores may also be tertiary consumers if they have
eaten another carnivore and are therefore the third group in the food chain to eat
food.

You can think of the food chain like an energy pyramid. On the bottom are plants
that receive energy from the sun. This bottom level of the pyramid is wide to
represent the many plants that are necessary to make food energy for the
herbivores. The next level is the herbivores. The level is not as wide as the bottom
level and shows that there are fewer herbivores than there are plants because
each herbivore has to eat many plants in order to have the energy it needs to
survive. The third or top level is narrowest and represents carnivores. There are
fewer carnivores than herbivores because carnivores must consume many
herbivores in order to have enough energy to survive.

So a food chain involves plants, herbivores, and carnivores. But most plants and
animals belong to more than one food chain. When two different food chains
connect a food web is formed.

Animals of the Coral Reef

Parrotfish
Parrotfish are very brightly colored and have beaklike mouths made of “teeth”
that are fused together. They are sometimes called the “cows of the sea” because
they are grazers. In search of small plants called algae, parrotfish will eat the coral
reef. The reef is digested and passes out of the parrotfish as sand. One parrotfish
can create as much as 1,100 pounds of sand each year that ends up on tropical
beaches around the world. (That's enough sand to fill 75 1-gallon pails!)

Some parrotfish create a mucous blanket to surround and protect themselves at

night. The mucous blanket keeps predators from picking up their smell.
Anemones and Anemone Fish
Sea anemones are animals that live on the reef. They have stinging tentacles that
keep most predators away. Because anemone fish, such as clown fish, have a
protective coating of slime on their bodies, they can live among the anemone’s
tentacles. In return for providing a safe home for them, the anemone fish clean
up the anemone by eating parasites and scraps. Anemone fish also are very
territorial so they drive away anemone predator fish. Anemone fish rarely stray
from their homes and even lay their eggs at the base of the anemone.

Giant Clams
Most clams are only a few inches long, but the giant clam really is a giant
measuring up to 4.8 feet long and weighing over 500 pounds!

You can find a giant clam, the largest mollusk on Earth, in the warm waters of the
South Pacific and Indian oceans. Once a giant clam fastens itself to a spot on a
coral reef, it will sit there for the rest of its life which may be 100 years. Giant
clams look alike, but no two giant clams have the same coloring! Isn't that
amazing!?

In order to eat and live, giant clams are dependent on algae that live in their
tissues, and algae are dependent on the giant clams. The clams consume the
sugars and proteins produced by the algae. In exchange, the clams offer the algae
a safe home and access to sunlight which the algae need for
photosynthesis. Clams also survive by consuming plankton; they use a siphon to
draw in water to filter and eat passing plankton.

Despite popular myth, giant clams do not eat people.

Keeping it Clean
Some animals in the reef help others to stay clean!

The cleaner wrasse is known as the reef’s vacuum cleaner because sucks
parasites, dead skin and bits of food from the fins, gills, teeth and skin of reef
predators. This process keeps the wrasse fish fed and the larger fish clean! In
order to let the fish know it's ready for work, the wrasse will wiggle and
jiggle. When the fish see the dance, they line up for cleaning.
Cleaner shrimp do the same work as the cleaner fish. They do a dance, too, to let
customers know they are open for business. One shrimp or several (or combos of
cleaner shrimp and cleaner fish) share a cleaning station where sharks, moray
eels, large groupers, and triggerfish wait their turns to be cleaned. A shrimp is
not afraid to climb inside the mouth; the predator will not eat it! It also works on
the gills, skin, mucus coating, and eyeballs.

Library List
Colorful Captivating Coral Reefs by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
DK 24 Hours Coral Reef by Caroline Bingham
Coral Reef Food Chains by Bobbie Kalman
Eyewitness Books Fish by Steven Parker
One Less Fish by Kim Michelle Toft and Allan Sheather
One Small Square Coral Reef by Donald M. Silver
A Coral Reef Tale: Old Shell, New Shell by Helen Ward
Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes

Easy Chapter Book:

Magic School Bus: The Fishy Field Trip by Martin Schwabacher

© www.homeschoolshare.com
Cut pocket out as one piece. Fold back up. Wrap flaps around the back and glue down.
Cut out cards. Use the cards for sorting (animal classification) or just for learning. You may
want to write some facts on the back of each card.

Coral Reef
Creatures
Butterfly Fish Green Sea Turtle

Cowfish Damselfish
Manta Ray Eagle Ray

Lionfish Triggerfish
Hawkfish Goby

Sea Fan Brain Coral

Sea Whip Sea Anemone

Jellyfish Feather Star

Blue-ringed Octopus Crown-of-thorns
Starfish

Porcelain Crab Sponge Crab

Arrow Crabs Argus Sea
Cucumber

Cuttlefish Giant Clam

Cut out book as one piece. Fold matchbook style. Open. Cut on dotted line to form two flaps.
The cleaner wrasse is a fish known as the reef’s
vacuum cleaner because it sucks parasites,
dead skin and bits of food from the fins, gills,
teeth, and skin of reef predators. This process
keeps the wrasse fish fed and the larger fish
clean! In order to let the fish know it's ready for
work, the wrasse will wiggle and jiggle. When
the fish see the dance, they line up for
cleaning.

Cleaner shrimp do the same work as the cleaner

fish. They do a dance, too, to let customers
know they are open for business. One shrimp or
several (or combos of cleaner shrimp and clean-
er fish) share a cleaning station where sharks,
moray eels, large groupers, and triggerfish wait
their turns to be cleaned. A shrimp is not afraid
to climb inside the mouth; the predator will not
eat it! It also works on the gills, skin,
mucus coating, and eyeballs.

Directions: Cut and paste information and pictures in to the matchbook.

The fish on the top is being cleaned by a wrasse fish. The fish on the bottom
is being cleaned by a shrimp. (It’s hard to see! Can your student find it?)
Directions: Fold paper in half on
dotted lines. Cut around giant
clam shape. On the inside of
the book, write facts about the
giant clam.
 My skeleton is on the

INSIDE or OUTSIDE

of my body.

My body made my bones by

A hard coral’s skeleton is on the

INSIDE or OUTSIDE

of its body.

Its body made its bones by

You are looking at the inside of the book.

Fold bottom to the middle. Fold top to the middle. Glue cover pieces on
the outside flaps.
 Cut out book above as one piece.
Fold like a matchbook.
Cut out book above as one piece. Fold in half.
Use the inside to record how a coral reef is
formed (or use it for whatever may suit your
purpose!).
Cut out book as one piece. Fold in half on the black line. Cut on the dotted lines to form three flaps.

Reef Building

Hard Skeleton or
Stony Base

No Hard Skeleton

Bright and Colorful

Feeds at Night

Feeds During Day

Lives on Seafloor or
Slopes

Lives on Overhangs
Hard coral and Cliffs
soft coral both
Cut books out on solid lines; fold on dotted lines. Write coral reef fun facts inside the file folders.

Fun Fun
Fact Fact

Fun Fun
Fact Fact
Directions: Cut (book on next page) on solid lines making two tall rectangles.
Fold each at center line. Glue story rectangle into cover. Cut out pictures and
glue into the correct places.
 The has a beak like a .
It comes in handy while searching for its
favorite food on the which is algae.
The algae is stuck to the
coral so the
An Interesting Tale: nibbles off pieces of coral. It does not need
The
the coral and so it passes through and exits its
body as which ends up on
Parrotfish
tropical around the world.
I throw myself to the left.
I throw myself to the right.
I am the fish
Who glides in the water, who glides,
Who twists himself, who leaps.
Everything lives, everything dances, everything sings.

--African Pygmy
 Cut apart the four rectangles.

Types of Reefs Stack and staple them on the

left side so that it opens like a
book.

Have child draw the reefs in the

proper locations around and
near the islands. If appropriate,
have child color the picture
indicating shallow water with
light blue and deeper water
with dark blue.

Atoll
Island

Fringing Reef

Island
Barrier Reef

Island
 Are the
Coral Reefs? Where
In the
World…
Cut Book out as one piece
on solid lines.
Fold shutter style on
dotted lines.
Glue map under shutters.
Color in the appropriate
locations.
 Cut around outside solid
line. Fold outer dotted
lines to form a diamond.
Under each flap have
child write a reason that
we need coral reefs.

glue here
 Cut on solid lines.
Fold both sides in on dotted lines, and then fold in half on dotted line so cover is on top.

Not So Fishy Fishy

Characteristics Characteristics
Something’s
Fishy
Glue here

Cut out the rectangle above on

the solid lines. Then fold on the
dotted lines. Glue to lapbook
where indicated. Cut apart
individual characteristics at right Vertebrate Births Live Young
and glue them under the proper
heading. On the other side of Invertebrate Moves with Legs
the “fishy” page have your child
draw a fish. On the other side of Skin Moves with Fins
the “not so fishy” side have your
child draw a sea creature which Fur Lives on Land
is not a fish.
Scales Lives Underwater

Lays Jellylike Eggs Breathes with Gills

Lays Hardshell Eggs Breathes with Lung

 Fast Facts
About the
Great Barrier Reef

Cut out each shape and staple together to make a shape

booklet. Fill in the correct answers. Use the blank pages to add additional facts you’ve learned.

The Great Barrier Reef

lies northeast of
what country?
 How long is the
Great Barrier Reef?

How many species

of coral live there?
How many smaller reefs
make up the
Great Barrier Reef?

How many species

of fish live there?
Cut out the triangle. Cut out the 6 squares. Glue the plant/animal squares into the
appropriate level of the Energy Pyramid. You may need to trim the shark to fit.

Shark Parrotfish Zooplankton

Algae Kelp Phytoplankton

Carnivores- Secondary Producers

Herbivores-Primary Consumers

Plants-Primary Producers
 What do
do What do
do
Anemone Fish Anemones do
do for
do for Anemones?
Anemones? Anemone Fish?
Glue Here
Cut rectangle along the solid lines. Fold along the dotted lines. Write the answers under the correct flap.
Cut out as one piece on solid lines. Fold on dotted lines so cover is on top. Cut out flaps on solid lines.
Cut out rectangles of 6 pictures and 6 explanations. Under each flap, glue the proper picture and
explanation of the defense.

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Eyespot

Black Stripe

Poisonous glue here

Stingers
Fish
Defenses
Camouflage

Appearing
Larger

Schools
Some fish have black spots
toward the backs of their
bodies. Predators mistake it for
their eyes and attack the
wrong end of the fish allowing
the fish to escape.

Some fish have black stripes

covering their eyes leaving
predators wondering which end
to attack.

Some fish have poisonous

stingers to protect themselves
from predators.

Some fish have special features

which allow them to blend very
well in their environments.

Some fish travel in groups,

called schools, for protection.
Large schools of moving fish
often confuse their predators.

Some fish are able to “inflate”

themselves which makes them
appear larger and possibly too
large for a predator to eat.