Great barrier reef animals and plants

What is the endangered species of the Great Barrier Reef? What organisms live in the Great Barrier Reef? What are some carnivores in the Great Barrier Reef? There are over 5species of fish in the Great Barrier Reef.

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Australian owned and operated Barrierreefaustralia. One of the main plants that grow on the Great Barrier Reef is sea grass. Sea grass produces oxygen for the animals and plants that live in the sea with it. An example of Caulerpa. They are most often found in shallow and protected lagoons referred to as back reefs which are usually found between a coral reef and the shore.

Seagrasses are true plants (unlike seaweed and algae) with roots, flowers, and seeds. In the Great Barrier Reef there is a particularily cute and goofy looking marine animal called the duogong. They are rather large animals that feed on underwater plants like algae , sea grasses , and seaweeds.

Historically, sailors were known to mistake duogongs that they saw swimming underneath the water for mermaids! Thirty species of whales, dolphins and porpoises have been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef, including the dwarf minke whale ,. In order to collect the sunlight needed for photosynthesis, plants in coral reefs have larger cells. Examples include:-Zooxanthellae lives inside the polyps in coral.

Free Shipping Available On Many Items. Money Back Guarantee! Some of the most common mammals in coral reefs include dolphins with species such as the spinner dolphin and bottlenose being common in the Great Barrier Reef. Check Out Top Brands On eBay.

Within the Great Barrier Reef , a few species of whales are also found such as the humpback and Dwarf Minke whales. The animals that live in the Great Barrier Reef vary greatly. From single celled algea to the very large Minke whale. All together, there are 5species of marine fish, 3species of hard corals, 6species of echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers), and 5species of seaweed.

Green Algae are sea lettuce, sea grapes, and turtle grasses. Green algae contributes to the sediment that forms sand banks. They provide a pla ce for small animals to live.

While coral might look like a plant, it’s actually an animal as it does not produce its own food.

Out of the 3species of coral found in the Great Barrier Reef, types are currently endangered. The severe coral bleaching which has occurred damaged approximately 5km of the reef’s coral. When hearing a dive brief on a particular site the Dive Master will always point out where the Anemone is situated and it is here you will find them. The Great Barrier Reef is no exception. This plant has a scientific name of Coccoloba uvifera and people also known this plant as baygrape.

Sea grapes can live until 1m depth and usually live in the muddy areas. The surgeonfish is another important reef -dweller. Like the parrotfish, it is essential in the process of sediment removal.

Animal and Plant Life. A study looking at surgeonfish (Ctenochaetus striatus) on the Lizard Island reef , in the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef , found these fish ate somewhere between and grams of sediment per fish per day. They generally get rid of their stomach contents in a different location to their eating grounds, and around one third of the sediment they eat is deposited. These are small animals that don’t have any rigid skeleton. Soft corals do not need as much sunlight to grow as the hard corals do and so they can be found in much deeper water.

Their main food source is plankton, which floats past in the water. Algae provides a source of food for smaller fish and invertebrate sea life. Red algae forms hard crusts on the Great Barrier Reef , helping to enlarge the reef. Other types of red algae appear much larger in the form of bushy seaweeds. Fish of the Great Barrier Reef.

Damselfish: Usually gather in large schools, hovering above the reef and feeding on plankton. You quite often see a school above a large head of staghorn coral and just by the snap of a finger they will all dart into the safety of its surrounds. They range in size from approx 6cm to about 14cm.

In fact, this reef is visible from space. As you might have guesse this massive organism provides food and shelter to a large number of animals. Several reef species, including dugongs and loggerhead and green sea turtles, have been listed under the U. Endangered Species Act.

A few specific fish found in the Andros Barrier Reef are the Sharp Nose Puffer, the Rock Lobster, the Queen Trigger, the Flying Gurnar the Green Turtle, the Blue Tang, the Reef Shark, the Black Hamlet, the Black Jack, and the Spanish Hog Fish.