Colonies of thousands of coral polyps form massive reef formations. It can take years for some corals to grow one inch. The reef is constantly growing new colonies on top of the skeletons of older ones. The coral reef ecosystem of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is alive with an abundance of fish, stony and soft corals, sponges, jellyfish, anemones, snails, crabs, lobsters, rays, moray eels, endangered sea turtles, dolphins, sea birds and other sea life. In fact, it is home to one third of Florida's threatened and endangered species.
Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees that provide a nesting area for a variety of birds.
The submerged roots are a nursery and breeding ground for most of the marine life that migrates to the reef. Mangroves trap and produce nutrients for food and habitat, stabilize the shoreline by trapping debris and silt, and filter land-based pollutants. Seagrasses are flowering marine plants that are an important part of the food web. They provide food for turtles, manatees, and a variety of fish, and habitat for filter-feeding organisms and foraging sealife such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Seagrasses are a nursery ground for pink shrimp, lobster, snapper and other sealife.