journey to the deep blue sea.

Information from: http://coralreef.nus.edu.sg/
HI EVERYONE!
RESEARCH TIME!
There were once over 60 offshore islands and patch reefs around Singapore, most of which were situated south of mainland Singapore. However, since the mid 1970s, major land reclamation was carried out on the mainland as well as the offshore southern islands. Some islands were merged as a result. The reef flats of many islands were reclaimed right up to the reef slope. Many of the coral reef organisms were smothered by the reclamation, while others were severely affected by the resulting increase in water turbidity. Since 1986, most coral reefs in Singapore have lost up to 65% of their live coral cover! WE MUST SAVE CORAL REEFS!
Contrary to the belief that our reefs have been permanently devastated, they still support rich marine life The reefs in Singapore harbour close to 200 species of hard corals from 55 genera, which given the size of the reefs and conditions present here, compare favourably with coral species richness in the more extensive reefs of the region. Singapore reefs sustain good diversity of other marine organisms too. So far, 111 reef fish species from 30 families were also recorded.
The reef can be subdivided into several zones: the reef flat, the reef crest and the reef slope. The shoreline gives way to the shallow reef flat that may vary in width and depth - at very low tides, some parts of the reef flat are exposed to air and direct sunlight. Here, scattered about are small colonies of boulder-shaped knob corals, maze coral and sponges of different colours. Pockets of sandy areas may be surrounded by lawns of large brown algae. Bands of black sea urchins gather in large numbers. This level also marks the outer edge of the reef flat, which gives way to the reef crest.
No matter what, WE MUST SAVE OUR CORAL REEFS;ITS OURS TO KEEP! I hope that there won't me anymore sharp decreases in the amount of coral reefs in Singapore. Don't forget, CORAL REEFS ARE OURS TO KEEP!
save marine life;
KAIYING<3