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Reefs Are Important

Hawksbill Barracuda turtle

Nurse

Caribbean

Coral reefs are beautiful, protect our Long-spined shoreline, and provide for sea turtles, marine , and thousands of different , , and .

Spiny lobster Stony

Queen angelfish

French grunt

Brain coral Star coral

Octocorals

Stoplight Black Green moray

• Coral reefs provide habitat for many important of fish, • Reefs protect our by reducing wave action against the invertebrates, and sea turtles. coastline during major , such as hurricanes. • (the number of different species) on coral reefs is • Healthy, beautiful coral reefs are important to 's thriving higher than in other marine . In fact, coral reefs make industry, which is dependent on fishing and diving. Sea plume Sea fan Sea rod up less than 1 percent of the floor, but provide habitat for more than 25 percent of .

3 Barrel Rope sponge Vase sponge

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Nearshore 4 We are Connected Ridge Complex Many aspects of life on land affect coral reefs, and coral reefs are equally Inner Reef important to our way of life. 6 Sand and 5 1. and serve as critical nursery habitats for reef , including many species that are important to Florida’s Biscayne Middle commercial and recreational fisheries. Reef 2. Coastal protection and restoration reduces and Limestone Sand Flat improves nesting sites, which is important for wildlife and Outer Reef Florida's tourism economy. Floridan aquifer 3. that feed near reefs require sand spits for nesting and raising their young. 4. Coral reefs protect our from erosion and sustain Florida's economy by providing 71,000 jobs and generating $6.3 billion in sales The Tract runs parallel to the subtropical and income annually. Atlantic coastline of the and southeast 5. Our seafood choices and fisheries regulations determine the population Florida, spanning a full range of reef habitats from health of many reef species. the to Stuart. 6. In addition to providing a food source, many reef species have anticancer and antimicrobial properties that are important to modern medicine. General cross section of the Florida Reef Tract at -Dade County

Coral Anatomy and Growth Corals Need Protection You Can Help Corals are made up of hundreds of soft-bodied called polyps. The • Improper anchoring and vessel groundings can • When boating, avoid anchoring on coral reefs by polyps form a hard (limestone) skeleton where they live dislodge and crush corals and other reef dwellers. anchoring in the sand or tying up to a mooring buoy. together in a . Some of these colonies can grow to over 12 ft across. • Contaminants from urban and agricultural runoff can • Dispose of household chemicals properly and use degrade quality, stressing corals and leaving only slow-release fertilizers on lawns and Symbiotic algae, called , them more susceptible to bleaching and disease. landscaping to reduce runoff to drains live inside stony coral tissues. The and waterways. zooxanthellae receive shelter, , and from the coral host. by the zooxanthellae produces food and zooxanthellae that are used by the corals. algae in This photosynthetic activity also provides energy for the coral polyps to secrete their hard skeletons.

Corals reproduce asexually when coral polyps divide and create new polyps. This process is slow, with some corals growing less than 1 cm per . Corals will also sexual into the water. Loxahatchee District The resulting larvae settle TM onto hard surfaces and “Preserving Nature by Design” start new colonies, which Poster Series, No. 6 can take decades or centuries to grow. www.southeastfloridareefs.net www.loxahatcheeriver.org

Illustration copyright © 2011 Dawn Witherington