There is no way to simply describe the complexity of the coral reef. It is composed of organisms who’s body plans, life histories, and associations with other organisms are alien to most people. I have found that many of those visiting the reef enjoy the colors, shapes and motion but have no idea what they are looking at. This will be a series of posts that will help you identify four types of organisms you might have overlooked or misunderstood while snorkeling or SCUBA diving and also help you understand a little about how they are organized. Pictures will be from various places in the Bahamas that I have taken over the past 5 years.
So let’s start with the basics. These organisms make up the large-scale structure of the reef: Gorgonians, hard corals, sponges, which are animals, and macroalgae, which are plants. The first 3 are primarily found as colonial animals, meaning that they originated from a microscopic larva that once settled onto the substrate, attached and started to reproduce by division. Macroalgae are generally more organized than the scum that you may be familiar with in your aquarium or on your boat bottom, but still do not have true roots, stems, leaves or vascular structures to transport water and nutrients within the plant as land plants and sea grasses do.
We can find them all in the photo posted on the heading of the website. The numbers refer to 1-Gorgonians 2-hard coral 3-sponge 4-algae. You will typically see them all mixed together in varying proportions. Sometimes one organism or another will be dominant or absent. They are in a never-ending competition for growth space since they live their lives attached to the substrate.
There is a lot in that picture, isn’t there. Don’t be overwhelmed! Future posts will explain more about these four members of the reef community.
Your photo and description is a fantastic guide. I keep coming back to it. Really appreciate you doing this.
Hi Gayle, I have been cruising with Joe on Onward. He is a wealth of information. I have to ask though, whether his reason for the death of the unbelievable coral reef on the Atlantic side of Conception Island was killed by dumping bleach on the reef to bring up fish and lobster by the locals? Please tell me if there is truth to this. I am devastated. We snorkeled that side for 2 days and found what we could find. BTW I love every one of your articles and photos. Thank you.
I am sorry I don’t have any specific information on that reef. I have not visited it in several years and the last time I was there it looked pretty good. The island has been a national park since 1964 so there is not supposed to be any fishing there, however it is remote and probably difficult to enforce. I know squirting bleach and anesthesia into the reef has been used as a method of catching fish but I am not sure how much that is done nowadays (most everyone agrees it is bad but I am sure it is possible that a few don’t care). Coral reefs everywhere are under attack by various diseases and conditions. Reef vulnerability can be impacted by a number of factors (both human and natural) and probably not just one factor. In fact, when I visit places like Monument Wall and Sand Dollar I am amazed how resilient the corals are with the wave pounding, temperature change, and sedimentation they receive. Thank you for your kind words about the site.