Just want to know what species built coral reefs on the seabed that serve as home to aquatic animals?

Question

Just want to know what species built coral reefs on the seabed that serve as home to aquatic animals?

Answer 1

they are called coral

Answer 2

Coral is a living animal...it was coral that built the coral reefs usually by growing on natural outcroppings or sunken ships etc...

Answer 3

Coral reefs can be made up of hundreds of different species of coral. There are two main types: “hard”

coral with an outer skeleton of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and “soft” corals that embed bits of CaCO3

inside their bodies. Although it comes in many shapes and sizes, all coral is composed of tiny individual

polyps. A polyp is a tiny animal that looks like an upside-down jellyfish. In soft corals, each polyp

contains little spikes of CaCO3 that help hold many polyps together in structures that look like fans or

whips. In hard corals, polyps sit inside little

cups which they build out of calcium

carbonate. Many of these cups are cemented

together to make up a coral colony. Reefs

are formed when hundreds of hard coral

colonies grow next to and on top of each

other. Since most species of coral polyps

stay deep within their calcium carbonate cups

during the day, the casual observer may think

of coral as inanimate rocks. At night,

however, the polyps emerge, and wave their

tiny stinging tentacles in the water to catch

microscopic organisms called plankton.

What makes coral polyps so unique is that plankton is only part of their diet. Each polyp harbors within its

body special algae called zooxanthellae. These one-celled plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide to

conduct photosynthesis, a process that produces oxygen ... and other nutrients needed by the polyps. In

return, the algae get protection and a constant supply of carbon dioxide and other raw materials they need

for photosynthesis. Such a mutually beneficial relationship is called symbiosis. Without this special

relationship, it is likely that there would be far fewer animals in clear, tropical waters since they typically

cannot support life. It is important to realize that the fish, crabs, snails, worms and other reef creatures

depend on the health and growth of the coral reef for their existence.