The Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2, 900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2, 600 kilometers over an area of approximately 348, 400 square kilometers. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as fishing and tourism.
Inhabitants of local waters - sea fish (1, 500 species, including exotic and colorful clown fish, parrot fish and butterfly fish, moray eels, 125 species of sharks, including the largest in the world - the whale), many crustaceans, octopuses, 4000 species of mollusks, 17 species of sea snakes, several species of whales, dolphins, killer whales, and even such rare mammals like the dugong, a distant relative of the sea cow. Dugong is listed in the Red Book as an endangered species. Six species of sea turtles is found here. The largest member of the family is the green turtle.
Climate change, pollution, crown-of-thorns starfish and fishing are the primary threats to the health of this reef system. Other threats include shipping accidents, oil spills, and tropical cyclones. According to a 2012 study by the National Academy of Science, since 1985, the Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half of its corals with two-thirds of the lost occurring from 1998.
Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. Where is Great Barrier Reef situated? How many reefs are there? What mammal is listed in the Red Book? How many species of sea fish are there?
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