Definition of Coral reefs. Meaning of Coral reefs. Synonyms of Coral reefs

Here you will find one or more explanations in English for the word Coral reefs. Also in the bottom left of the page several parts of wikipedia pages related to the word Coral reefs and, of course, Coral reefs synonyms and on the right images related to the word Coral reefs.

Definition of Coral reefs

Coral reefs
Coral Cor"al, n. [Of. coral, F, corail, L. corallum, coralium, fr. Gr. kora`llion.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) The hard parts or skeleton of various Anthozoa, and of a few Hydrozoa. Similar structures are also formed by some Bryozoa. Note: The large stony corals forming coral reefs belong to various genera of Madreporaria, and to the hydroid genus, Millepora. The red coral, used in jewelry, is the stony axis of the stem of a gorgonian (Corallium rubrum) found chiefly in the Mediterranean. The fan corals, plume corals, and sea feathers are species of Gorgoniacea, in which the axis is horny. Organ-pipe coral is formed by the genus Tubipora, an Alcyonarian, and black coral is in part the axis of species of the genus Antipathes. See Anthozoa, Madrepora. 2. The ovaries of a cooked lobster; -- so called from their color. 3. A piece of coral, usually fitted with small bells and other appurtenances, used by children as a plaything. Brain coral, or Brain stone coral. See under Brain. Chain coral. See under Chain. Coral animal (Zo["o]l.), one of the polyps by which corals are formed. They are often very erroneously called coral insects. Coral fish. See in the Vocabulary. Coral reefs (Phys. Geog.), reefs, often of great extent, made up chiefly of fragments of corals, coral sands, and the solid limestone resulting from their consolidation. They are classed as fringing reefs, when they border the land; barrier reefs, when separated from the shore by a broad belt of water; atolls, when they constitute separate islands, usually inclosing a lagoon. See Atoll. Coral root (Bot.), a genus (Corallorhiza) of orchideous plants, of a yellowish or brownish red color, parasitic on roots of other plants, and having curious jointed or knotted roots not unlike some kinds of coral. See Illust. under Coralloid. Coral snake. (Zo) (a) A small, venomous, Brazilian snake (Elaps corallinus), coral-red, with black bands. (b) A small, harmless, South American snake (Tortrix scytale). Coral tree (Bot.), a tropical, leguminous plant, of several species, with showy, scarlet blossoms and coral-red seeds. The best known is Erythrina Corallodendron. Coral wood, a hard, red cabinet wood. --McElrath.

Meaning of Coral reefs from wikipedia

- A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate...
- penetrate, form reefs but do not harbour the symbionts. There are various types of shallow-water coral reef, including fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls;...
- Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among...
- Lakshadweep islands. All of these reefs are Fringing reefs, except Lakshadweep which are Atolls. There are Patchy corals present along the inter-tidal areas...
- of coral bleaching. After the loss of more than 90% of corals due to bleaching in 1998 around 50% of the reefs recovered and roughly 40% of the reefs experienced...
- of coral reefs had already been lost. Only 46% of the world's reefs could be currently regarded as in good health and about 60% of the world's reefs may...
- describe them as "annular reefs enclosing a lagoon in which there are no promontories other than reefs and islets composed of reef detritus" or "in an exclusively...
- The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres...
- Coral Sea Islands Territory is an external territory of Australia which comprises a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in...
- Coral reef protection is the process of modifying human activities to avoid damage to healthy coral reefs and to help damaged reefs recover. The key strategies...