Beneath the soft bodies of scleractinian, or stony corals, polyps secrete a calcium carbonate skeleton, and it is this skeleton that becomes the foundation of coral reef ecosystems. Coral colonies ...

“Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.” Corals are marine invertebrates that live in communities of hundreds to thousands of identical, individual soft-bodied polyps. Each ...

Not far beneath the surface of the Coral Sea, where the Great Barrier ... energy—each polyp is fueled to secrete a "house" of calcium carbonate, or limestone. As one house tops another, the ...

Pennekamp State Park—the nation's first coral-reef santcuary—protects a thriving ecosystem beneath the waves ...

Coral reefs are unique because they capture atmospheric ... mixes it with calcium ions from seawater, and forms strong calcium carbonate minerals. These minerals create a robust skeletal structure ...

These coral fragments, named for their distinctive maze-like patterns resembling the human brain, are rare finds along Gulf beaches.

Coral reefs are made up of colonies of hundreds to thousands of tiny individual corals, called polyps. These marine invertebrate animals have hard exoskeletons made of calcium carbonate, and are ...