coralreef

Taipei - Hannibal: Coral Reef Project - January 2009

 * NOTE:** This was a 4-week project of learning and reporting on the ecology of coral reefs. This page has kid drawings and brief facts lists, a short video of our kid presentations, a coral reef video, and the list of kids from Taiwan + their names in Chinese. Taiwan responded by sending us a DVD in the mail of their team presentations.

Corals are animals that live in warm, shallow salt water seas. When corals die, their skeletons form the layers of rock that we call the reef. The reef than becomes an ecosystem, a home to many plants and animals.
 * Coral Reef and Animals –**

The coral reef ecosystem has many species of animal life that interact with each other and with the physical environment. The sun is the main source of energy for this ecosystem. By photosynthesis, plankton, algae, and other plants convert light energy into chemical energy. As animals eat plants or other animals, some of this energy is passed on.

__**Fringing reef:**__ Fringing reefs are next to the shorelines of continents and islands in tropical seas. Fringing reefs are commonly found in the South Pacific Hawaiian Islands, and parts of the Caribbean.


 * __Barrier reef__:** these form farther offshore. Barrier reefs form when land masses sink, and fringing reefs become separated from shorelines by wide channels. Land masses sink as because of of erosion and shifting crustal plates of the earth. Crustal plates lift or sink the seafloor and adjacent land masses. Barrier reefs are common in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific. The Great Barrier Reef off northern Australia is the largest barrier reef in the world. It is more than 1,240 miles (2,000 km) long.


 * Click the animals below to learn facts about them.**

Courtny || sea snake Kaleigh || puffer fish Kimmiesha || flatworms Kaitlynn || Lexie || sea urchin Alicia || seahorse Cara || banded coral shrimp Blake || Destiny || damsel fish Lloyd || moray eel Cameron || porcupine fish Norberto || Brianna || Christmas tree Worm Jacob ||  ||
 * butterfly fish
 * sea star
 * parrot fish
 * || barracuda


 * Taiwan Students and Animal Choices:**
 * English Name || Chinese Name || Project Name ||
 * Celine Chew || 周妤 || Crabs ||
 * Joyce Yeh || 葉家妤 || Starfish ||
 * Anny Shu || 許藝馨 || Jellyfish ||
 * Judy Hsu || 許芝穎 || Clownfish ||
 * Melissa Lin || 林煒涓 || Starfish ||
 * Amy Jaing || 江宜庭 || Jellyfish ||
 * Catherine Wu || 吳承忻 || Sea Urchin ||
 * Sabrina Ho || 何盈琦 || Parrot Fish ||
 * Christina Chen || 陳思儒 || Clownfish ||
 * Yvonne Wang || 王心彤 || Dugong ||
 * Kiki Chen || 陳祐琦 || Dugong ||
 * Queena Huang || 黃葵真 || Starfish ||
 * Emerald Lee || 李品妍 || Sea Star ||
 * Joanna Guo || 郭向芸 || Parrot ||
 * Katy Huang || 黃楷晴 || Sea Urchin ||
 * Hanna Chang || 張書涵 || Jellyfish ||
 * Ashley Kao || 高安妘 || Sea Dragon ||
 * Tina Chu || 褚 庭 || Clownfish ||
 * Katrina Yang || 楊侑靜 || Dugong ||
 * Angie Lou || 樓恩琦 || Butterfly Fish ||
 * Kevin Lin || 林愷倫 || Clownfish ||
 * Andy Yan || 顏浩翔 || Jellyfish ||
 * Daniel Tseng || 曾鼎文 || Jellyfish ||
 * Aaron Wei || 魏正信 || Sea Horse ||
 * Harry Wu || 吳 桓 || Clownfish ||
 * Jerry Chen || 陳 頡 || Clownfish ||
 * Crist Chee || 齊瑞泓 || Starfish ||
 * Poyin Chou || 周伯穎 || Clownfish ||
 * Jason Ma || 馬振華 || Clownfish ||
 * Liang Shie || 謝 量 || Clownfish ||
 * Kenny Yeh || 葉子翔 || Clownfish ||
 * Freddie Lin || 林芃佑 || Clownfish ||
 * Lucas Kao || 高承濂 || Sea Anemone ||
 * Dav Lin || 林 靖 || Sea Anemone ||
 * Henry Wang || 王若珩 || Starfish ||
 * Teddy Yen || 晏德心 || Clownfish ||
 * David Chiang || 江富恩 || Starfish ||
 * Barry Lee || 李竟嘉 || Sea Slug ||
 * Victor Huang || 黃淵揚 || Dugong ||
 * Howard Yang || 楊皓丞 || Sea Slug ||

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Information on this page was researched at: seaworld.org and www.projectaware.org; Teachers' Domain, A Night in the Coral Reef, published April 19, 2007, retrieved on December 28, 2008, teachersdomain.org