Coral reefs serve many vital purposes in the ocean and are home to 1/4 of the species of fish in the world. Due to this, reefs are essential to the world’s fisheries. They form the nurseries for about a quarter of the ocean's fish, and thus provide revenue for local communities as well as national and international fishing fleets. An estimated one billion people have some dependence on coral reefs for food and income from fishing. Not only do reefs feed many people, they also recycle the carbon dioxide in the ocean. The coral polyp turns carbon dioxide in the water into a limestone shell. Without coral, the amount of carbon dioxide in the water would rise dramatically and that would affect all living things on Earth. Coral reefs break the power of the waves during storms, hurricanes, typhoons, and even tsunamis. Reefs also help prevent coastal erosion, flooding, and loss of property on the shore, the reefs save billions of dollars each year in terms of reduced insurance and reconstruction costs and reduced need to build costly coastal defenses. Tourism is also generated by coral reefs. In fact, they generate billions of dollars in revenue for coastal communities.Overall, coral reefs serve a great deal of purposes that both humans and marine life depend on.
To learn more visit:http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral07_importance.html