Corals: Without corals our islands would fall into the depth of the sea.

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8-9 evening class, Monday to Friday

A common coral

With the unabated destruction of our coral reef it is not common to see undisturbed corals such as these. Corals are animals in colonies belonging to Phylum Coelenterata, which is often associated with Cnidaria, of the Class Anthozoa.

Coral reefs are the forest of the sea, the counterpart of our terrestrial forest. With the association of seaweeds, they constitute the abode of fishes and other marine life, without which our seas would not be as productive as they are today. However, the destruction of coral reefs through illegal fishing like“muro-ami” and dynamite fishing, as well as the conversion of shores into resorts and fishponds have greatly reduced fish catch and the diversity of marine species.

Today our laws prohibit coral gathering, more so corals for export. Coral reefs conversion is a priority program of many countries. Without corals our island would fall back to the depth of the sea and our continents would be reduced through erosion.

Thus, corals are nature’s architectural and engineering wonder for they serve as riprap and barrier against the restless sea, while making the world underwater a truly beautiful scape beyond compare.~

Coral fossil, a museum piece at the former St Paul Museum (SPU-QC) is a reminder of man's destructiveness and indifference to nature.