The Great Barrier Reef Written by: Audrey Shanghai china Issuu Š2014
Table of Contents Location pg.1 Life Forms pg.2 Save the Reef pg.3 Glossary pg.4 Bibliography pg.5 About the Author pg.6
Location and Creation The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef in the entire world. Because it is so big, astronauts can actually see the Great Barrier Reef from outer space!
The reef is located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Coral reefs are found on the shallow level of the ocean floor and are close to the surface and sunlight penetrates their waters. Coral reefs are found mostly in warm and shallow tropical waters. The Great Barrier Reef began to form more than 18,000 years ago. This is the Great barrier Reef from outer space!
Coral reefs may take 100 years to just start growing into a reef. Coral is made out of polyp and the color of the coral is effected by the sunlight. Actinic lights produce more rainbow colors and yellow light produces warmer colors like yellows, reds and oranges.
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Life
But because the
More than 1,500 different types
coral reefs are slowly dying
of fish have been found in the Great Barrier Reef for example angelfish,
out (see pg.3 for more
surgeonfish, butterfly fish, cardinal fish,
information), fewer fish have
clown fish, damselfish, gobies and many more.
been spotted in and around the reefs.
Other than fish you can also find sea slugs, sharks, turtles, scallops and prawns in the Great
Barrier Reef. About 20% of all marine life can be found in coral reefs.
Types of Fish Found in
Coral Reefs 1000000
750000
500000
250000
Damself
ish
Butterfl yf
ish
Angelfis
0
h
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Clownfi sh
Save the Reef This is a necklace that is made out of coral. The Great Barrier Reef faces many threats. Some are natural, such as hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons, earthquakes, or coral-eating animals/bugs like the crown of thorns starfish, but we can’t control the food chain so they must eat coral to live. And some are because of us humans. We may turn coral into souvenirs, jewelry and many more other things without realizing how precious coral actually is. Pollution is also another way that destroys coral. It makes them stop growing and pollution makes coral shrivel up and die. And coral needs life in it and 20% of all marine life are found in coral reefs (see more on pg.2) and because of the coral dying, marine life have not been spotted in coral reefs as much as before.
You can help save the Great Barrier Reef by trying to use gas as less as you can and by protecting the ocean.
Garbage filled sea
Result of sea pollution
Garbage filled sea.
Glossary
Actinic-(of light or lighting) able to cause photochemical reactions, as in photography, through having a significant short wavelength or ultraviolet component. Coral reefs-(coral reef) a reef consisting of coral consolidated into limestone. Cyclones-a system of winds rotating inward to an area of low atmospheric pressure, with a counterclockwise (northern hemisphere) or clockwise (southern hemisphere) circulation; a depression. Food chain-a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food. Form-the visible shape or configuration of something. Penetrates-succeed in forcing a way into or through (a thing). Polyp-a solitary or colonial sedentary form of a coelenterate such as a sea anemone, Prawns-a marine crustacean that resembles a large shrimp. Scallops-an edible bivalve mollusk with a ribbed fan-shaped shell. Scallops swim by rapidly opening and closing the shell valves. Souvenirs-a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event. Shrivel-wrinkle and contract or cause to wrinkle and contract, esp. due to loss of moisture. Surface-rise or come up to the surface of the water or the ground. typically having a columnar body with the mouth uppermost surrounded by a ring of tentacles.
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Bibliography
"Great Barrier Reef Facts for Kids - Pictures & Information." Great Barrier Reef Facts for Kids - Pictures & Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. "Coral." BrainPOP. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. "Underwater World." BrainPOP. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. "National Ocean Service." Does Coral Jewelry Make a Good Gift? N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
"Coral Reefs." The World Book Encyclopedia 1993. Ci-Cz ed. 1993. Print. and. "Great Barrier Reef." The World Book Encyclopedia 1993. G ed. 1993. Print. "Why Your Corals Change Colors." About.com Saltwater Aquariums. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. N.d. Photograph. Http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/ Coral_reef_in_Ras_Muhammad_nature_park_(Iolanda_reef).jpg. Web. N.d. Photograph. Http://whyfiles.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/landsat_gbreef_lrg.jpg. Web. N.d. Photograph. Http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HebkNDbRt2E/TWaAgu47dcI/AAAAAAAAJVI/ yZrtZo9H5kI/s400/Kenneth-Jay-Lane-Coral-and-Gold-BranchNecklace_9568_front_large.jpg. Web. N.d. Photograph. Http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/3000/3270/ landsat_gbreef_lrg.jpg. Web. N.d. Photograph. Http://photos.mongabay.com/08/0108_Macroalgae_dominated.jpg. Web. N.d. Photograph. Http://cdn.coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/alaska-plasticpollution2.jpg. Web. N.d. Photograph. Http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f985d03eab8ea637700000e-1200/ water-pollution-is-a-worldwide-problem.jpg. Web. N.d. Photograph. Http://justgrits.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/glossary1.jpg. Web.
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About the Author Audrey is a pro fifth grader that goes to Shanghai American School. She is from Boston MA and loves to write (she also likes to write in all sorts of genres). Audrey likes to sing and draw. She also enjoys spending time with animals and nature. This is her seventh book.
Thanks For Reading