What is it like swimming in Coral reefs?

In the Pacific islands, coral reefs have some of the highest biodiversity in the world. For example, Guam hosts over 3,500 species of plants and animals, including 200 different types of corals. That is an amazing number of organisms! So many organisms like to live on coral reefs because they provide shelter and food. read more

On a reef,you will see two major groups of coral-like creatures - the coral itself and jellyfish, sponges, worms -and likely more than one type, starfish, more molluscs and crustaceans. The water is remarkably clear because the coral and sponges filter it to gather food. read more

Coral reefs begin to form when free-swimming coral larvae (planulae) attach to the submerged edges of islands or continents. As the corals grow and expand, reefs take on one of three major characteristic structures—fringing, barrier or atoll.Fringing reefs, which are the most common, project seaward directly from the shore, forming borders along the shoreline and surrounding islands. read more

Sometimes referred to as "the rainforests of the sea" for their biodiversity, coral reefs are the primary habitat for more than 4,000 species of fish, 700 species of coral, and thousands of other plants and animals, according to CORAL. read more