Coral Reefs in India

This study focuses on the description of coral reefs and their different types found in India. Coral reefs are defined as an ecosystem that is formed inside the water. These are generally seen inside the sea and they are made up of coral polyps which are engaged together with the help of calcium. There is a very important role of coral reefs in the protection of the sea. According to a report, it has been found that coral reefs protect the coastline from erosion and storms. These have also a significant contribution to the protection of wildlife. Coral reefs of India are one of the most important chapters of Environment and Ecology for the MPPSC exam and it has a good weightage in the syllabus of the MPPSC exam.

Definition of coral reefs

Coral reefs are defined as an ecosystem that is found inside the water. These are the heavy and attractive structure which is made up of limestone. These are collected and deposited by the coral polyps. There are some regions in India such as the Gulf of Manner, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep islands, Palk Strait, and Gulf of Kutch where coral reefs are found. Andaman and Nicobar Islands are some of the largest coral reefs which are found in India.

Types of coral reefs found in India. 

There are mainly four types of coral reefs as Barrier reefs, Patch reefs, Fringing reefs, and Atolls that have been discussed below with proper examples.

Barrier reefs

These types of reefs are parallel to the coastline and are separated by wider and deeper lagoons. They reach the surface of the water at their shallowest point and form a barrier for navigation. 

Fringing reefs

These reefs are the most common types of coral reefs that are seen in India. These types of reefs grow near the coastline around the continents and islands. These reefs have a significant role in the protection of continents and islands from erosion and storms. They bound the lands strongly and protect them from erosion. 

Patch reefs

These types of reefs are small and grow from the opening of continental shelves and island platforms and they are isolated. It has been seen that these types of reefs generally occur between the barrier reefs and fringing reefs. There is a very low chance of these reefs reaching the surface of the water. 

Atolls

These are ring types of corals that are generally seen in the middle of the sea and protected lagoons are created by these types of reefs. These types of reefs are formed when the islands covered by the fringing reefs sink into the sea due to the rise in the water level of the sea. 

Important facts about coral reefs

There is a very important role of coral reefs in the protection of nature and maintaining the ecosystem. One of the most important roles of coral reefs is that it protects the lands from erosion and storms. The different facts about the coral reefs have been discussed below with proper justification. 

Coral reefs protect the wildlife by protecting the superficial warm waters from the sea which helps in the survival of many rare plants and tropical fish. If barrier coral reefs are not present in the sea, the protection of superficial water from the sea will not be done and the survival of some of the rare plants and fish will not be possible. One of the factors about coral reefs is that they also require sunlight in their growth and their growth is quite slow. It takes around a thousand years to build large coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef of Australia is the largest reef in the world. One of the benefits of the coral reefs is that they clean the water of the sea and improve the quality of water for the betterment of the plants and animals of the sea. As per the analysis of the research paper on the coral reefs, it has been identified that they can cure cancer disease.

Conclusion 

From this study, it has been found that there is a very important role of coral reefs in balancing nature. There are various types of benefits of these reefs. The water of the sea is purified with the help of coral reefs for the survival of the animals of the sea. These are also helpful in protecting the land from erosion of soils from different calamities such as storms. The different locations where the coral reefs are found have been appropriately discussed in this study.