Did you know ...?

• Reef growth is extremely slow; an individual colony grows ½ inch to 7 inches (1 cm to 18 cm) a year, depending on the species.
• Stony corals are the major reef architects.
• Polyps, the living portion of corals, extract calcium from seawater and combine it with carbon dioxide to construct the elaborate limestone skeletons that form the reef backbone.
• Though corals are classified as animals, microscopic plants live within the animal tissues in a symbiotic relationship. The animals benefit from the energy that the plants provide through photosynthesis. The plants are protected within the coral tissues and gain nutrients from animal wastes.
• Coral reef development only occurs in areas with specific environmental characteristics:
• A solid structure for attachment.
• Warm water temperatures.
• Clear waters low in phosphate and nitrogen nutrients.
• Moderate wave action to disperse wastes and bring oxygen and plankton to the reef.

Coral Reefs in Florida

• Florida's coral reefs came into existence 5000 to 7000 years ago when sea levels rose following the last Ice Age.
• Southeast Florida's reefs form the northern extension of the Florida reef tract. Generally, the reefs occur in a series of one to three discontinuous reef lines (terraces) that parallel the shoreline, extending north from Miami-Dade County to Martin County. Different reef organisms characterize the types of habitats found along southeast Florida reefs, typically transitioning from a cover of algae and small octocorals nearshore to numerous octocorals and varied hard coral populations at the outer reefs.
• The various reef architectural and compositional components create an environment that is ecologically diverse and productive; one that supports many other aquatic plants and animals that make southeast Florida reefs their home.
• Most of Florida's sport fish species and many other marine animals spend significant parts of their lives around coral reefs.