Why Are Coral Reefs Important

So why are coral reefs important?
All ecosystems are important, but obviously the more species rich ones are even more important.
And coral reef ecosystem is the second species richest in the world, after tropical rainforests.


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The main importance of coral reefs is that they support so many species, which means that without them a lot of species would go extinct.

But there are other good reasons, and the following one easily rivals the one above: corals recycle and remove carbon dioxide - the gas that adds to global warming.

Other reasons for the importance of the coral reef are that they protect the land from tropical cyclones (hurricanes) and tsunamis; that they bring in tourist dollars, that they provide us with food in form of fish and other seafood; and that with their species richness (just like the tropical rainforests) they are very likely to provide us with some very important (cancer) medicies in the future.

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