What are three benefits of the Great Barrier Reef?

Answer 1

One of the most biodiverse places in the world.

Answer 2

• The Great Barrier Reef lies off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
• It is in the Coral Sea.
• It is the world's largest living organism and visible from space.
• The Great Barrier Reef is around 2300km long.
• It stretches from just south of Papua New Guinea down to near Hervey Bay.
• The reef is not a single reef, but comprises around 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
• The Crown of Thorns Starfish is a serious ecological threat to the reef.
• The Great Barrier Reef was awarded the status of a World Heritage Site in 1981.
• there are over 1 500 species of fish in the reef.
• The first European explorer to discover the reef was James Cook, who ran aground on the reef in June 1770.
• It runs virtually parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia, for some 2300km, with its northern end just south of Papua New Guinea, and its southern end near Lady Elliott Island, northeast of the city of Bundaberg.
• Some shark species of the Great Barrier Reef include the whale shark, grey nurse shark, great white shark, freshwater and green sawfish.
• The Great Barrier Reef is visible from space.
• It is larger than the Great Wall of China.
• The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, which comprises more than just the coral reefs, atolls and islands of the Great Barrier Reef, covers around 348,000 sq km (134,363 sq miles) while the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park itself covers around 344,400 sq km.
• Protected fish species include seahorses, pipefish, sea dragons, potato cod, Queensland grouper, barramundi cod and Maori wrasse.
• Boating, swimming, sailing and snorkelling are all popular activities in many parts of the reef.

Answer 3

• The Great Barrier Reef lies off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
• It is in the Coral Sea.
• It is the world's largest living organism and visible from space.
• The Great Barrier Reef is around 2300km long.
• It stretches from just south of Papua New Guinea down to near Hervey Bay.
• The reef is not a single reef, but comprises around 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
• The Great Barrier Reef was awarded the status of a World Heritage Site in 1981.
• Over 1 500 species of fish in the reef.

  The first European explorer to discover the reef was James Cook, who ran aground on the reef in June 1770.

• It runs virtually parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia, for some 2300km, with its northern end just south of Papua New Guinea, and its southern end near Lady Elliott Island, northeast of the city of Bundaberg.
• Some shark species of the Great Barrier Reef include the whale shark, grey nurse shark, great white shark, freshwater and green sawfish.
• The Great Barrier Reef is visible from space.
• It is larger than the Great Wall of China.
• The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, which comprises more than just the coral reefs, atolls and islands of the Great Barrier Reef, covers around 348,000 sq km (134,363 sq miles) while the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park itself covers around 344,400 sq km.
• Protected fish species include seahorses, pipefish, sea dragons, potato cod, Queensland grouper, barramundi cod and Maori wrasse.
• Boating, swimming, sailing and snorkelling are all popular activities in many parts of the reef.
• Around 40 species which live in and around the Great Barrier Reef are listed as endangered.

The Great Barrier Reef is under threat as it is known to be shrinking, but it is not known by how much. Climate scientists who subscribe to the theory of anthropogenic global warming (i.e. caused by man's activities) predict that the Great Barrier Reef may lose up to 95% of its coral by the middle of the current century. Although the coastline parallel to the Great Barrier Reef has been settled by Europeans for less then 200 years, these scientists believe that the Reef has been shrinking by 20% every 100 years.

Climate scientists who subscribe to the theory that global warming is cyclical perhaps have a less drastic view, as they believe that the coral will regenerate, as it has apparently done so in the past.

Pollution and chemical runoff also pose a very real threat to the reef. Mud and chemical runoff tend to limit the sunlight that reaches the coral, causing it to die off. The Crown of Thorns Starfish is also a serious ecological threat to the reef.

Answer 4

Firstly it supports a huge amount of marine life and provides an excellent habitat for many species.

Secondly the reefs prevent strong waves and currents from reaching the shores at full strength, preventing the erosion of the beaches.

Finally it is a popular tourist attraction and helps boost the country's economy

Answer 5

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef system. It is located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is made up of more than 2900 coral reefs and 900 islands, and extends for about 2300 km parallel to the coastline.

The coral which makes up the Great Barrier reef is believed to extend to a depth of around 500m in some places. However, the living polyps only go down as far as 30 metres.

The water in the channel between the shoreline and the reef reaches about 60 metres in depth.

Answer 6

Some unique characteristics of the Great Barrier Reef is that it is not one continuous reef, but made up of over 2900 reefs and 900 islands. It is so large it is visible from the moon.

Answer 7

it is a really beautiful place with lots of culture

Answer 8

it is a sea

it has fish

it has coral at the bottom