The Oceans | Coral Reefs Module Outline |

The Oceans | Coral Reefs Module Outline

CRF.A | Architects of the Ocean

We hear a lot about coral and reefs dying, new reefs being discovered, and the effects of coral bleaching these days. Just what are coral reefs and why are they important?

CRF.B | Ecosystem Extraordinaire

Are coral reefs just big piles of living rocks? Of course not! In fact, one reef in particular is the largest living organism on the planet!

CRF.C | Name That Coral!

Coral comes in so many shapes, sizes and colors it’s hard to believe. Have some fun and check out some of the coolest on our interactive coral board – hover over ewach to learn all about it!

CRF.D |How to Build a Reef

Here’s a riddle: When do coral grow on trees? Is that even possible? Check out the answer and get another look at science underwater in our next video!

CRF.E | How to Grow a Reef

Coral reefs are made up of many, many living organisms that can grow and reproduce over thousands of years; but how do they do it?

CRF.F | Life as a Reef

You already know that coral cover about twenty-five percent of the ocean floor, but what does that really mean? What sort of conditions do coral live under?

CRF.G | Global Threats

With a stony covering you wouldn’t think you’d have much to worry about, but there are a lot of threats to coral’s well-being globally. Learn about them and what you can do to help.

CRF.H | Where in the World is the Coral?

Where in the world is coral? Explore the major coral reefs with this interactive map showing locations of some of the world’s most extensive reef systems.

CRF.I | Lesson Quizzes, Games & Bonus Questions

You’ve learned lots about coral now, so let’s have a look and see just what you remember. Review Time!

CRF.J | Dive Deeper

Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about coral, here’s some more information you might find interesting!

Your CRF Module Progress

Your CRF Extras

10 Fun Facts: The Hab

1. Aquarius is the the world’s only permanent undersea research station.

2. Most missions last about two or three weeks.

3. Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau, beat his grandfather’s record month-long underwater expedition by spending 31 days on the Aquarius Reef Base in 2014.

4. The lab is used by NASA, the US Navy, and researchers and educators from around the globe for training and research.

5. The internet connection is better in the Hab than at many places above the water.

6. You have to swim underneath the facility in order to enter it.

7. Crew members are called aquanauts (NOT aquaNUTS!)

8. In 1994, a crew of scientists and divers had to evacuate Aquarius and climb up a rescue line to the surface in 15-foot seas after one of the habitat’s generators caught fire.

9. Aquarius was featured in the comic strip Sherman’s Lagoon in 2012.

10. The Hab was originally built in Texas.

10 Fun Facts: Coral

1. Reefs usually grow up on the east shore of land masses.

2. Parts of a coral reef can be harvested to make medications to treat cancers and other illnesses.

3. A coral reef isn’t a single organism; it’s actually a community of life that lives and thrives in one location.

4. Only about one percent of the world’s oceans contain coral reefs. That’s about the size of France.

5. Coral reefs are the largest biological structures on earth.

6. Corals are related to jellyfish and anemones.

7. There are over 2,500 species of corals. About 1,000 are the hard corals that build coral reefs.

8. Reefs grow where there are stronger wave patterns and currents to deliver food and nutrients.

9. The Great Barrier Reef is 500,000 years old.

10. Most coral reefs grow just about two centimeters per year.

10. Most coral reefs grow just about two centimeters per year.

10 Fun Facts: Invasive Species

1. To be considered invasive, a species must adapt to a new area easily. It must reproduce quickly. It must harm property, the economy, or the native plants and animals of the region.

2. Some invasive species are introduced accidentally, but others are brought deliberately.

3. Ship ballast water transports between 3,000 and 7,000 foreign species daily around the globe.

4. The total loss to the world economy as a result of invasive non-native species has been estimated at 5% of annual production

5. Invasive species have contributed to 40% of the animal extinctions that have occurred in the last 400 years.

6. Rodents are some of the worst invasive species.

7. There are an estimated 50,000 wild ring-necked parakeets in parks across London and southeast England.

8. Black and Norway rats annually consume stored grains and destroy other property valued over $19 billion.

9. Northern Pacific seastars reproduce very quickly. In one area where they were introduced, their population reached an estimated 12 million seastars in just two years.

10. Starlings were introduced to New York in the late 1800s, as part of an attempt to bring animals that were mentioned in Shakespeare‘s work to America.