CORAL REEF KEYSTONE SPECIES
Channel: Kate Stevens
Date: 29/11/2021

Educational series on Coral (Acropora)

Original video credit:
California Academy of Sciences. (2018). What Animals Live in a Coral Reef? | California Academy of Sciences [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thbXWo_64V4

Original video credit:
California Academy of Sciences. (2018). How Do Humans Depend on Coral Reefs? | California Academy of Sciences [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lof-TCrs1yY

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Compiled by Kate Stevens. 
2021 terrawise.org 

Elkhorn Coral, as well as all other species of corals suffer from the effects of ocean pollution, overfishing and climate change in the form of ocean acidification, causing them to become more vulnerable to disease. Gaining restorative value as one of the fastest growing corals compared to many others, the loss of this species would play out in the form of a domino effect, dramatically affecting all other life forms in the ocean, from the bottom to the top of the food chain. As a keystone ocean species, the Elkhorn coral provides other marine life forms a habitat used for shelter, refuge, and system of food propagation. Elkhorn’s ecological importance (along with other corals) is not only detrimental to the survival of the many species of reef fish, crustaceans, and invertebrates it directly supports, it is detrimental to the overall health of the ocean; as the life forms it directly supports, serve as part of the food chain, supporting life amongst all other marine animals.