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This biome is known to have be one of the most diverse places. They provide numerous organisms with both food and shelter. This is the home of fish, corals, lobsters, clams, seahorses, sponges,  sea turtles, and hundreds more. The uniqueness of each specie doesn't get in the way of them housing together, as this is a very successful community.

text source
https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/marine-life-education-resources/coral-reef-ecosystems

picture source
https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=876

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A keystone specie in this biome is Elkhorn Coral. The biggest role that this coral plays here is building, it is the building block in this biome. Right from the start of life, this organism begins to produce itself and form homes for others. Not only does this coral make up most of the reef because its starts building early, but it has the ability breed at a fast rate.The Elkhorn Coral forms very close-knit groups in areas making it a community, housing hundreds of other plants and animals. This way, life has to live and work together in order to survive because they are packed in a tight space.

text source
https://oceana.org/marine-life/corals-and-other-invertebrates/elkhorn-coral

picture source
https://ambergriscaye.com/photogallery/161007.html

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This specie faced the most damage, that would affect it forever, in the 90s. During this time over 90% of the population was lost due to disease. They haven't recovered since this occurred because they now had new factors to face. Obstacles thrown at them such as pollution, overfishing, storm damage, disease, and others. These all take a toll on their tissue causing it to not be able to reproduce. Due to climate change water is also getting warmer killing the coral.

text source
https://nmsfloridakeys.blob.core.windows.net/floridakeys-prod/media/archive/scisummaries/elkhorn2011.pdf

picture source
https://www.pnas.org/content/99/13/8725

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The extinction of Elkhorn coral would affect almost every other specie that lives in the coral reef. This is so because this specie is the reef, they build homes for others. Once reefs start to die the life that lives here will as well. Without them fish wouldn't have shelter and other can't get food or have places to hide from predators.

text source
https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-all-coral-reefs-disappeared.htm

picture source https://www.pnas.org/content/101/21/8251

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In order to keep this extraordinary specie alive we need to take matters into our own hands and act quick. Recycling is so effortless, but makes the biggest difference. That can be done everyday among everyone. By recycling trash won't go into the oceans. The next way, and biggest step, is reducing our carbon usage. There are so many ways that this can be done, and each decision you make to reduce your carbon consumption. By lowering the carbon we can help keep the water healthy. There are so many simple ways to do this including turning off lights and eating local grown food. The last way is to support places that have nurseries and breed Elkhorn Coral.

text source
https://www.epa.gov/coral-reefs/what-you-can-do-help-protect-coral-reefs

video source
https://www.pbs.org/video/coral-reefs-are-dying-but-they-dont-have-to-qoz4hc/

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Coral Reefs Are Dying. Here's How We Can Save Them | Hot Mess 🌎

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In 2006 this specie was listed as endangered and this is when the recovery plan started. In 2009 they started putting them in nurseries and raising them in a healthy environment. These since then have been successful in tasing the population, however in their real environment they still struggle to survive.

text source
https://nmsfloridakeys.blob.core.windows.net/floridakeys-prod/media/archive/scisummaries/elkhorn2011.pdf

picture source
https://phys.org/news/2018-01-corals-approach-paves-large-scale-coral.html