Coral gardens at Hikkaduwa

 Coral gardens at Hikkaduwa..

corals are extremely beautiful and are responsible for the formation of the great barrier reef in Australia. Sri lanka has its own coral gardens at Hikkaduwa, which attract thousands of thourists local and foreign.

          

               A coral structure is composed of thousands of these  thing polyps growing together as a colony. These tiny coral polyps are the builders of the reef. There tiny calcium shells have accumulated over thousands of years to from the largest living structures in the world. Many people mistakenly refer to corals as plants. They are actually animals. These animals are characterised by a symmectrical body, usually with stinging tentacles and a central mouth.

                            The majority of corals live as part of a colony. But a few like jelyfish are freely swimming on their own. Corals some in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They share the same basic body plan  the differences occur due to factors such as genetics, depthof water, strength of water currents and the location of the coral reef. 

                         Corals are found in seas around the world. Large colonies are found in warm shallow waters, where colonies of millions of coral polyps from as coral reefs. Reefs are slow growing. They only grew about one inch each year. The life cycle of a coral is very plesant. It begins its life as a tiny, free swimming lava, which is the size of a pin head. It settles on a hard surface and will never move again.

                                 

                     Corals are carnivores. They catch food using tentacle that surround the mouth.  Most corals feed at night. In this way a large number of corals get together and makes a large reef which is lovely to be seen. Beautiful coral reefs were very attractive and makes us happy..