What animals is the Great Barrier Reef home to?
The Great Barrier Reef is home to more than 1,500 species of fish, 411 types of hard coral, one-third of the world’s soft corals, 134 species of sharks and rays, six of the world’s seven species of threatened marine turtles, and more than 30 species of marine mammals, including the vulnerable dugong.
What’s inside the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef consists of about 3,000 individual reefs of coral, and the biodiversity they contain is remarkable. There are animals you would probably recognize, such as dolphins, turtles, crocodiles, and sharks. There are also venomous sea snakes, brightly colored worms, and large algae.
What ocean is the Great Barrier Reef located?
Coral Sea
The reef is located off the coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Coral Sea. The reef, which is large enough to be visible from space, is made up of nearly 3,000 individual reefs. Much of the Great Barrier Reef is a marine protected area, managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority of Australia.
Do clownfish live in the Great Barrier Reef?
Learn More About Clownfish and The Great Eight There are 1625 species of fish living in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. The clownfish is just one of these. The clownfish achieved notoriety in the Disney feature film “Finding Nemo” as a playful and active member of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem.
What sharks live on the Great Barrier Reef?
The most common sharks found on the Great Barrier Reef are white tip and black tip reef sharks.
- Leopard shark.
- White tip reef shark.
- Reef Shark & Snorkeler.
Who owns the Great Barrier Reef?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef area and have a continuing connection to their land and sea country.
Is coral a plant or animal?
Though coral may look like a colorful plant growing from roots in the seafloor, it is actually an animal. Corals are known as colonial organisms, because many individual creatures live and grow while connected to each other. They are also dependent on one another for survival.
How dead is the Great Barrier Reef?
In 2020, a study found that the Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half of its corals since 1995 due to warmer seas driven by climate change. As global warming continues, corals will not be able to keep up with increasing ocean temperatures.
What type of coral does Nemo live in?
clown anemonefish
Best known for being featured in the movies “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory,” the clownfish has become a popular aquarium pet. Nemo and his dad, Marlin, are ocellaris clownfish, also called false clownfish or clown anemonefish. Anemonefish are so-named for the sea anemones in which they make their homes.
