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- Reef as a whole is considered to be at low risk for destruction, with only a few areas considered to be at moderate risk.
- The more threatened areas are very close to the coast, the most populated region of Australia.
- The land near the coast is managed by both the state and federal governments in order to ensure that companies do not do anything to threaten the state of the reefs.

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- The Great Barrier Reef is located off the western coast of Australia.
- This reef is considered the world's most extensive and has a plethora of different types of coral, fish, and other aquatic organisms.
- It provides shelter for many organisms facing the threat of extinction, such as the large green turtle.

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Changes in abiotic factors | Water that becomes cloudy or has other obstructive objects in it can do serious harm. Coral relies on sunlight for its algae to produce nutrients, and without it the coral can starve.
- Levels of salinity and pH can changes according to pollution. Precipitation containing pollution can raise or lower the acidity of the water, a very delicate abiotic factor for the coral.
Disease | Black band disease is one of the most serious. This disease creates a black band on the coral that indicates tissue degradation and eats away at it, leaving only the skeleton.
- Coral bleaching happens very often and is extremely dangerous. As a reaction to high temperatures or pollution levels, the coral expels its algae. This not only leaves the corals a ghastly white color, but also means that the organism will probably starve.
Weather events | Hurricanes and cyclones happen more frequently and more powerful now, and these storms can be extremely harmful. The strong waves can break up the coral and scatter the remains so there is no hope it will survive.
Human threats | Overfishing is a direct result of large population growth and is damaging to the biodiversity in reefs.
- Pollution can easily reach the waters through precipitation or runoff from farms.
- Invasive species can destroy the delicate environment. If one species rises up and takes out important native species that cannot compete, the outcome will be a deteriorating ecosystem.

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Ecological | Reefs provide a habitat and shelter for many different aquatic creatures.
- They contain the most diverse ecosystems on the entire planet.
- Reefs provide a protective barrier for the coastline.
Economic | As a whole, reefs bring in may jobs in the way of fishing, recreational activities, and tourism.
- The reefs are also an excellent place for fish spawning grounds, which helps the fishing industry.
Other | Reefs provide a food source for many people living near the coast. This is especially important for those living in impoverished nations where food is hard to come by.

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Role of Corals | Coral reefs provide a buffer that protects shores from damaging waves, storms, and floods.
- The reefs also provide food and protection for many types of fish and other organisms. This creates and supports biodiversity.
- The coral also filters the water to make it clean and clear.
Trophics Levels Present | Primary producers: these organisms are typically plants or tiny microorganisms, such as phytoplankton or seaweed. Primary producers turn unusable compounds into usable energy for others.
- Primary consumers: these organisms are herbivores; they feed on plants. They include zooplankton.
- Secondary consumers: These include carnivores that are eaten by other carnivores themselves. Examples could be lobsters, shrimp, mollusks, and worms.
- Tertiary consumers: this group includes carnivores that are never or rarely preyed upon such as dolphins, sharks, and seals. Usually if they are eaten, it is the young or weaker ones in the species that are picked off.
Ecological relationships | - - Predation: When one organism preys on another, it is called predation. This is necessary in order to keep populations where they should be and recycle nutrients.
- Competition: Competition occurs when two or more species compete for the same resource. The result is usually that one species will not be strong enough to secure the resource and will die.

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Body Structure | The coral polyps themselves are very small, soft organisms.
- They are related to creatures like jellyfish and anemones.
Skeleton | The soft polyps grow a hard skeleton around themselves. This skeleton is used for protection and is know as a calicle.
- Calicles formed by different polyps will grow together and begin to form a colonies. Later on, the colonies will grow together and create reefs.
Life Cycle | Both polyps and colonies can have lifespans anywhere from a few years to centuries.
- Corals can reproduce asexually or sexually, and the polyps themselves can be either male, female, or both.
Feeding & Feeding Structures | Coral is considered a carnivorous organism.
- The organisms get most of their nutrients from the byproducts of the algae that lives in their tissue. However, the coral can sometimes have barbed, venomous tentacles that can be used to catch things like zooplankton and small fish.
Relationship with Zooxanthellae  | Zooxanthellae is a photosynthetic algae that lives within the tissue of the coral.
- The two organisms have a mutualistic relationship, meaning that they both benefit from the relationship. The coral provides a protected place for the algae to live, and in turn the algae produces important things like oxygen and proteins (products of photosynthesis) that the coral needs to survive.
- These organisms recycle nutrients where there may not be many.
Other | The color of the coral comes from the zooxanthellae.
- When the coral is stressed due to pollution or change in temperature, they kick out the algae. This is called coral bleaching.

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Sunlight | Reef-building corals require a lot of sunlight in order to survive. The algae that lives in the tissue of the coral needs to photosynthesize which in turn provides nutrients for the coral.
- Deep-sea corals can survive without much light. The have different types of algae and grow very slowly.
Water Temperatures | Reef-building corals need 70-85° F (or 22-29° C) in order to live. Most cannot tolerate cooler temperatures.
- Deep-sea corals can survive in much colder temperatures, however.
Water Depth | Reef-building corals can only survive in quite shallow tropical/subtropical waters. They require a lot of sunlight and warm waters.
- However, different types of coral can be found in deeper waters.
Ocean Salinity & pH | Coral requires fairly saline-heavy water (32-42 parts per thousand).
- Since the algae tends to need a higher pH, the best kind of water for the coral has a pH of 8.3-8.5.
Clear and Moving Water | Coral needs clear water that sunlight can easily penetrate.
- Moving water can be good as gentle waves have been shown to cool rising water temperatures that can cause bleaching. However, very intense waves pounding at the reefs can cause physical damage.