{"id":93,"date":"2021-05-29T14:32:51","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T21:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coral.org\/?page_id=93"},"modified":"2026-02-23T13:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:41:57","slug":"coral-reefs-101","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/coral-reefs-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Coral Reefs 101"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coral Reef Ecology &amp; Biodiversity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coral.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/coral-reefs-101-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1527\" width=\"369\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.coral.org\/uploads\/2021\/08\/coral-reefs-101-1.png 738w, https:\/\/static.coral.org\/uploads\/2021\/08\/coral-reefs-101-1-500x500.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 369px) 100vw, 369px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Although they cover less than 0.1% of the earth\u2019s surface, coral reefs are the most biodiverse marine ecosystem in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Coral reefs are home to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-list\"><li><strong>4,000 species of reef fish<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>840 species of corals<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Over 1 million species of other animals<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer is-style-large\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-white-color has-text-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(180deg,#00AFA4 0%,#BFDC5D 100%)\">\n<div style=\"padding-left:4%;padding-right:4%;padding-bottom:2%;padding-top:5%\" class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-container gb-block-container\"><div class=\"gb-container-inside\"><div class=\"gb-container-content\">\n<h2 class=\"has-white-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\">Why are coral reefs so important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer is-style-small\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-list\"><li><strong>275 million people<\/strong> live within 19 miles (30km) of coral reefs.<\/li><li><strong>Over 100 countries<\/strong> benefit from the recreational value of coral reefs.<\/li><li><strong>350 million people<\/strong> travel to coral reefs each year.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer is-style-small\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile is-style-small has-white-background-color has-background\" style=\"grid-template-columns:48% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/coral.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/coral-reefs-graphic.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1534 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-dark-gray-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-size:14px\">Coral reefs are at the center of many coastal and island cultures around the world. For example, in the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant, the coral polyp was the first organism created, and from that all other life forms sprung forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-dark-gray-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-size:14px\"><strong>Though coral reefs face numerous threats, we can save them by keeping them healthy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-blue-background-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/how-can-you-help\/\">Find Out How<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coral Reef Ecology &amp; Biodiversity Although they cover less than 0.1% of the earth\u2019s surface, coral reefs are the most biodiverse marine ecosystem in the world. Coral reefs are home to: 4,000 species of reef fish 840 species of corals Over 1 million species of other animals&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/coral-reefs-101\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue Reading &#8594;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1524,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"sidebar-content","_genesis_transparent_header":false,"_genesis_hide_siblings_nav":true,"_genesis_hide_flyout":false,"_genesis_subtitle":"","_genesis_subheading":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-93","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"entry"},"acf":[],"template_part":"","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/static.coral.org\/uploads\/2021\/08\/coral-reefs-101-hero.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/static.coral.org\/uploads\/2021\/08\/coral-reefs-101-hero.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}