Weekly Reader | Lead Story | Threatened Under the Sea

SpongeBob and Patrick might love life in Bikini Bottom, but some real sea creatures aren't so lucky. Recently, two types of coral that make up coral reefs—staghorn and elkhorn—have been added to the Endangered Species List. This is the first time that coral have been placed on the list. The U.S. government has classified them as a threatened species because their populations have declined severely. (A threatened species is one that is not yet endangered. The Endangered Species List includes both threatened and endangered species.)

Once an animal or plant is added to the Endangered Species List, the U.S. government puts together a plan to help protect the species to prevent further damage.

Some of the richest habitats for sea life can be found in coral reefs. The delicate staghorn and elkhorn corals live in waters off the coast of Florida and throughout the Caribbean Sea. They were once the most abundant kind of reef coral. Now, according to scientists, over 97 percent of them have disappeared since the 1970s.

Scientists think that coral is dying out for a number of reasons. They suspect that global warming and rising ocean temperatures have caused many coral to die. Another threat to coral is polluted river water feeding into oceans. Poachers also cause damage to coral when they collect it to make jewelry and souvenirs.

Slow Growin'

Other coral species may soon join staghorn and elkhorn on the Endangered Species List. Over the last 20 years, many coral populations have declined. Coral reefs are fragile ecosystems, and don't recover quickly when they are damaged.

Coral grows so slowly that it takes hundreds of years to grow just a few feet. That's because what looks like one large coral is actually many tiny individual animals, called polyps. As polyps die, they leave their hard shells behind. New polyps grow over the old shells, and the layering creates coral reefs.

Coral Matters

Coral reefs make up less than one percent of the ocean's area, but are an important part of the marine ecosystem. "Coral reefs harbor more biodiversity than any kind of habitat on the planet," Tundi Agardy, a marine biologist, told Weekly Reader. "Some people call reefs the 'rainforests of the sea' because there are so many different kinds of organisms living in these complex underwater cities."

Coral reefs are important to fish, which use them as nurseries and hunting grounds. They are also important to people. "Coral reef organisms, including corals and sponges, are the source of many [medicines] needed to treat and/or cure some of the world's worst diseases," says Agardy. Reefs also buffer land from storms like hurricanes and tsunamis. Agardy says that the listing of coral on the Endangered Species List is an important step forward in the protection of reefs for the future.