Reef Ecology

Video is made by Astrid King-Kaupp and Stefan Kaupp

 
Diving over a tropical coral reef has been compared to stepping into a time machine. Watching the video you find yourself in a strange place, ten million years out of synch with the land.

coral garden in Bali - Amed Scuba Diving tours

The reef is a reminder of a time when all the life on earth existed in shallow, tropical seas. This was the the original soup of creation!
Nowhere else is there such a diversity of animals. The myriad fish, vertebrata and invertebrata that shelter among and encrust the rugged surfaces provided by the clups, shelves and branches of coral are overwhelming in their numbers, shapes and colors. The waters surrounding the islands of Indonesia form the richest marine habitat on earth. Indonesia lies at the epicenter of species diversity for the entire tropical Indo-Pacific region. Perhaps 3000 species of fish, and several hundred species of coral populate the reefs off the larger Indonesian islands. Nowhere else you will find such a diversity of animal forms. The islands that now make up Indonesia are likely to have been the genetic source of marine life. This region has remained tropical for 100 million years, exposed

The presence of large gorgonians, crinoids and schools of planktivores like this anthias indicates plankton-rich waters, which can provide a spectacular concertration of marine life. Bali Amed coral garden

Crystal clear tropical water is nutrient poor, an aquaticdesert. The strange and varied forms of the members of coral reef communities allow each to fill a niche in a complex nutrient cycle.

to the strong sunlight that makes tropical waters so much richer than temperate waters, giving the animals a long time to diversify.
There are so many species present on the Indonesian reefs that even specialists can not give an exact tally of their numbers here.
Crystal clear tropical water is nutrient poor, an aquatic desert! The strange and varied forms of the members of coral reef communities allow each to fill a niche in a complex nutrient cycle, beginning with the fixing of nutrients by the photosynthesis of the zooxantella of the corals, of algae and working up to the reef shark that snatches an aging fish from the school. The ammonia and feces secreted by the predator are cycled right back into the reef ecosystem. Therefor it is not recommended to take anything out of this nutrient poor water!
Over half a billion years, when the first simple coral reefs first formed, this community hs made a remarkable geological impact.The stony coral skeletons become overgrown and compacted into rock, eventually building up a prodigious thickness of limestone.When forced upward by the buckling of the earth´s crust, this old reef rock forms islands.