Coral Reef Biomes: The Keystone, The Invasive, and The Endangered Species

Coral Reef Biomes:
The Keystone, The Invasive, and The Endangered Species
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[Date]Earth is home to different biomes, be it aerial, aquatic, or terrestrial. Animals coexist in particular habitats where environmental conditions meet the animals' quality of living for their existence. Aquatic biomes hold the most marine lives as water covers most parts of the earth. These biomes exist in different conditions of water, either freshwater or salty oceans. Freshwater biomes exist in bodies of water like lakes and ponds while salty oceans shelter marine biomes (National Geographic Society, 2020).
In oceans, coral reefs house marine biomes. Coral reef biomes are typically in shallow parts of ocean waters where they easily receive nutrients from the sunlight (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019). Some of the biomes that exist in coral reefs are gray reef sharks, octopus, algae, and phytoplankton. Among the marine lives, phytoplankton is the most populous followed by algae. Octopus is the least settlers of coral reefs next to parrotfish.
Corals are also coral reef biomes and they are the keystone species of the biome. Corals partner with algae in terms of the production of oxygen and photosynthesizing. They have a mutualistic relationship that releases healthy carbohydrates for food while at the same time clearing water waste (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019). This characteristic of corals qualifies them to be home to some of the marine biomes. The corals also allow water species to access sunlight as they are in shallow areas. Aside from nutrition, coral reefs also provide defense against predators of its biomes. It secures the animals from the visibility of the predators.
In the great barrier reef in Australia, the northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis) is one of the invasive species that have pestered the ecosystem in the coral reef biome (Kwai, 2018). The seastar, which is originally from the coasts of Korea, China, and Japan, was brought to the coral reef area of Australia because of ships that carry ballast water. When these ships release their ballast water, the foreign species would often come out in the new environment. When the seastar relocated to the coas...