What constitutes a 'coral reef'?

[Codyjp]

I was just reading another post and it got me wondering, what defines a coral reef?

Is there a minimum size? hard or soft coral growth? what is it?

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

the answers varie with variety and region, not really one answer out there to my knowledge, did you try google, yahoo or such?

 

[Nemrod]

Coral.

A CORAL reef would have to have coral, a reef may or may not be a coral reef.


Read about The Great Permian Reef, reef systems have not always been composed of primarily corals.

N

 

[SDAnderson]

1. underwater ridge: a ridge of coral or rock in a body of water, with the top just below or just above the surface

 

[Guba]

A coral reef is a community of marine organisms centered around benthic animals--coral. In my training, I have seen no specific size parameters. The only defining criteria seems to be that the reef is self-sustaining and supports a variety of sealife that usually includes coral, fish, mollusks, algae, and many other types of organisms.
Yup, this is a pretty stirile definition that really doesn't do justice for such a beautiful, fascinating, and almost mystical realm of the ocean, but it's the best I can do.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

The reef terminology is not exclusive to the underwater environment, ie Capital Reef National Park - in UTAH. But, when you put reef and coral together, well, we know what that is...

 

[Blackwood]

Um, a reef made of coral?

 

[Codyjp]

ok, so question 2. california has a few places that coral grows (Farnsworth bank is one). so is this a coral reef? I am really just trying to steal some fame from Florida who claims to have the only coral reef in the US.

 

[SDAnderson]

ok, so question 2. california has a few places that coral grows (Farnsworth bank is one). so is this a coral reef? I am really just trying to steal some fame from Florida who claims to have the only coral reef in the US.

At 60 or 70 feet at the shallowest, it's a bank or a mount, not a reef.

 

[Guba]

Hmmmm...so does a reef have to be shallow enough to be hit by a ship to be called a reef?

Interstingly, the federal government seems to classify banks as reefs, too. Take this excerpt from the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary website:
The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary encompasses a variety of habitat types, including the northernmost coral reefs in the continental United States.

Who am I to argue with that? Therefore, I tend to dispute Florida's claim to the only coral reefs in the U.S. And then, ask the folks in Hawaii. They might dispute the claim, too.