Great Barrier Reef:
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The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
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It is stretched for over 2,300 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres.
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The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
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It was listed in 1981 by UNESCO world heritage as the most extensive and spectacular coral reef ecosystem on the planet.
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It can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.
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This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
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They are made up of genetically identical organisms called polyps, which are tiny, soft-bodied organisms. At their base is a hard, protective limestone skeleton called a calicle, which forms the structure of coral reefs.
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These polyps have microscopic algae called zooxanthellae living within their tissues. The corals and algae have a mutualistic (symbiotic) relationship.
Why in news?
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has highlighted that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is in a critical state and deteriorating as climate change warms up the waters in which it lies.
