The Great Barrier Reef
By: Mrs. Leyvas
The Reef
The Great Barrier reef is located of the coast of Australia. It stretches across 1,240 miles. It is so big you can see if from space. It is made up of thousands of coral reefs and hundreds of islands. Many species live in the coral reef including 1,500 types of fish, around 5,000 types of mollusks and approxiamtely 360 types of hard coral. My favorite species of the reef is the clown fish which is like Nemo.
Food Chains in the Reef
Like all ecosystems, coral reefs have many food chains as well. The bottom of the food chain are tiny little plants called phtoplankton which is like the grass on land. It soaks up sun rays to make its own food. The next link in the food chain are herbivores. One example of an herbivore is shrimp because they eat plants. The next link includes both omnivores and carnivores. These animals can be longnose hawkfish sharks because the hawkfish eats the shrimp and the shark eats the hawkfish. Food chains are everywhere in the world. This was just one example of a food chain in the Reef.
Shrimp
After the phytoplankton, shrimp are at the bottom of the food chain. They are herbivores.
Longnose Hawkfish
This species is an omnivore because it eats both mean and plants.
Shark
Sharks are carnivores and at the top of the food chain.
Click here for an interesting summary about a lady named Miss Tam and her adventure at the Reef!
Which Animal Would I Be?
If could be any animal from the Reef, I would be an octopus. I would be an octopus because they have eight arms and sometimes I wish I had more arms to get more work done quicker. Imagine, I could be typing right now and taking a sip of coffee while rocking one of my daughters to sleep. I also like that I would be boneless. I would be able to squeeze as thin as i'd like or stretch out twice my size. I would be able to reach those tall shelves with no problem at all! I also love that octopus are camoflauge. This means when I need alone time it would not be hard to hide and not be found. These are just a few reasons I would be an octopus.
The Great Barrier Reef
Work Cited:
The Great Barrier Reef by Ann Watanabe
Miss Tam at the Great Barrier Reef by Marilyn Sprick and Paula Rich
Wonders of the Coral Reef by Ann Watanabe and Paula Rich
Images from Google Search