Re: How are Corals Made?

Hello,

I think there are many webpages where you can get information on coral and coral reefs (see at the end).

To explain in simple terms, animals belonging to Cnideria (Coelentrates) secrete Calcium Carbonate to make up their skeleton and the structures we call coral reefs. However not all cniderians do this. Hence the term reef building corals or coral in general.

According to Oxford Dictionary
Coral = 1. a hard stony substance secreted by certain marine coelenterates as an external skeleton, typically forming large reefs in warm seas : [as adj. ] a coral reef.
• precious red coral, used in jewelry.
• the pinkish-red color of red coral.
2. a sedentary coelenterate of warm and tropical seas, with a calcareous, horny, or soft skeleton.
Most corals are colonial and many rely on the presence of green algae in their tissues to obtain energy from sunlight.
• Several orders in the class Anthozoa, including the ‘true’ or stony corals (order Scleractinia or Madreporaria), which form reefs, the soft corals (order Alcyonacea), and the horny corals (order Gorgonacea).

You are from Honolulu, so why not take some time and visit the Waikiki Aquarium? You can get the information you need from the people there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coralline_algae
http://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/what_are/
http://www.reef.edu.au/default.htm

Best of Luck
Shashank