Light Sector

Learn how important light is to the coral reefs.  Without the sun, nothing could survive!  Learn how energy is eventually transferred to every species within the reef.

The sun is the source of energy for the coral reef ecosystem. Plant plankton, called phytoplankton; algae; and other plants convert light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. As animals eat the plants and other animals, energy is passed on through the food chain.

Reef building corals work together with microscopic algae, called zooxanthellae, that lives in their tissue. The zooxanthellae provide oxygen and food to the coral through photosynthesis.  The coral polyp gives the algae a home, and the carbon dioxide it needs through respiration. Besides zooxanthellae, algae and seagrasses are the main types of plants in the coral reef ecosystem.  These plants give food and oxygen to the animals that live on the reef.

Everything we give out or do is used and transformed by something else and eventually finds it's way back to us, in one form another.  It makes the whole theory of recycling look a lot clearer when you understand how an environment as rich as the coral reef can survive on practically nothing but good management of limited resources.  So, come learn all about it!