CORAL REEF COLLAPSE By Carol Hand Content Consultant Richard B Aronson Professor of Biological Sciences Florida Institute of Technology Essential Library An Imprint of Abdo Publishing abdopublishing com ECOLOGICAL DISASTERS
Chapter ONE THE GREAT BARRIER REEF Glittering coral reefs dot the shallow tropical oceans forming a broken necklace around Earth’s equator Diving down into the reefs visitors are surrounded by thousands of rainbow-colored fish darting among a forest of coral heads and branches They see the waving tentacles of corals and anemones with shy eels and octopi peeking out among the branches They see sea slugs and crabs crawling over the Many species of coral fish and other organisms make up the ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia 5
