Florida Keys Coral Reef

The Florida Keys are set along North America’s only living coral reef, which stretched from just below Miami to the Dry Tortugas. Thousands of people visit each year to experience the wonders of the reef through scuba diving, snorkeling, or fishing. Vacationers marvel at the beauty of the colorful tropical fish, the strange formations made by the coral, and the magical qualities of the Marine world.

The coral is actually made of tiny animals which group together in colonies to become a coral reef. Coral is not plants, although they seem to behave like plants. They attach themselves to hard structures like plants do, and they don’t seem to be able to move independently, and they look like plants. But animals they are.

There are reef-building corals, which draw calcium carbonate from the sea water and use it to build the skeletal base of the reef. They are sensitive to a number of factors, some of which are controlled by humans:

1. clarity of the water
2. salinity of the water
3. temperature of the water
4. storm damage

When we drive a boat over the reef, or develop the land, or even go scuba diving, we can negatively impact these reef-building corals. Storms and disease do a number on the coral as well. Scuba divers should take special care when diving the reef, to preserve the coral for years to come.