Coral reefs and their living structure
Coral reefs are complex marine structures associated with communities of organisms, including reef-building corals. A reef is not simply one large animal or an underwater rock garden. Its visible form develops through the growth, accumulation, breakdown, and rearrangement of biological material. Many living things use the spaces within and around this structure, creating a community that operates at several different scales. Corals are animals, and many kinds live as colonies of small individual