They have been described as a flowing underwater garden filled with colorful, hard flowers. These coral reefs are composed of many corals, which are the flowers of the reef.
Corals are the second most productive ecosystem behind rainforests.
There can be 75 different fish species in 10 feet of a Caribbean reef. Location Coral reefs are found scattered throughout the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. The Western Atlantic includes Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean Islands, Belize, Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Indo-Pacific includes the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf through the Indian and Pacific oceans to the western coast of Panama. Reefs grow best in ocean water that is less than 150 ft and in warm ocean temperatures ranging from 68 to 82 F. Strong waves are beneficial because they carry food, nutrients, and oxygen to the reef, distribute coral larvae, and prevent sediment from settling on the reef.