THE CORAL REEFS OF THE RED SEA
The Coral Reef is one of the richest ecosystems on earth. Visitors to the Red Sea cannot but marvel at the contrast between the barren, almost lifeless desert and the explosion of marine life on the coastal reefs. The waters are so clear that even from the surface you can appreciate the huge diversity of species inhabiting the reefs. Scuba divers can use the facilities of the many diving centres along the coast. Remember that a reef is an extremely fragile and threatened environment and divers should look but not touch.
Corals are animals, colonies of polyps, which require very precise conditions of water temperature and sunlight to grow. They take many forms – from hard rock-like corals, such as Acropora species, to the horny gorgonians which project from the reef into the current to feed on micro-organisms, to various soft corals. Most reefs are built over many thousands of years from the skeletons of hard corals.
Coral Reef
