The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef

Bio/101-Principles of Biology

February 3, 2013

The world’s largest coral reef system is made up of 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands reaching over 1,600 miles long and 133,000 square miles. This formation can be seen from outer space and is the world’s largest structure made by living organisms. Much of the reef is protected by The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. However, there are still many questions. What is housed here? Why is it so special? Can something of this magnitude be destroyed by man and if so how? Can we fix it?

There are many organisms that can be found in the Great Barrier Reef. The organisms are divided into three different categories; producers, consumers, and decomposers. They are then placed in at “consumer” category; herbivore, omnivore or carnivore. .

The table below shows how the organisms are categorized within the ecological food chain.

Organism Type Type of Consumer

Seaweed Producer

Sea grass Producer

Zooxanthellae Producer

Phytoplankton Producer

Zooplankton Consumer Omnivore

Krill Consumer Omnivore

Prawn Decomposer

Platygyra hard coral Consumer Omnivore

Turbinaria hard coral Consumer Omnivore

Bottlebrush coral Consumer Omnivore

Bubble coral Consumer Carnivore

Needle coral Consumer Omnivore

Giant clam Consumer Omnivore

Cone shell Consumer Omnivore

Nudibranchs Consumer Omnivore

Mollusks Consumer Carnivore

Zig-zag oysters Consumer Omnivore

Cowries Consumer Omnivore

Sea slugs Consumer Omnivore

Sea urchins Consumer Omnivore

Sea cucumbers Decomposer

Sea stars Consumer Omnivore

Feather stars Consumer Omnivore

Brittle stars Decomposer

Crown-of-Thorns starfish Consumer Carnivore

Pipefish Consumer Omnivore

Shrimp Decomposer

Crab Decomposer