Classroom lesson 路 Wildlife馃嚫馃嚘 Saudi Arabia

Red Sea coral reefs

Some of the world's healthiest coral, full of bright tropical fish

Photo 路 Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Saudi Arabia has nearly 1,800 kilometres of coastline along the Red Sea - a warm, salty sea between Africa and Arabia. Beneath the surface live some of the most beautiful and healthy coral reefs left in the world, full of clownfish, parrotfish, turtles, rays and even dolphins.

Tell me more

Corals are tiny animals that build tough stone-like skeletons. Over thousands of years, those skeletons stack on top of each other and form reefs. The Red Sea reefs are special because the water is unusually warm and salty, which would normally make corals unhappy. But Red Sea coral has slowly adapted - it can handle the heat much better than coral in other oceans.

Scientists are studying the Red Sea reefs very carefully. Many reefs in the world are suffering as the sea warms up. The Red Sea may give clues about how coral could survive elsewhere - it is sometimes called a 'living laboratory' for the future of coral reefs.

The reefs are home to over 1,000 species of fish. Some, like the Picasso triggerfish, look as if someone has painted them. Others, like the lionfish, have long feathery spines. Big animals visit too - whale sharks (the biggest fish in the world), dolphins, turtles and rays.

Saudi Arabia is creating large protected areas along its Red Sea coast so the reefs stay healthy and only careful, low-impact visits are allowed in many spots. The aim is to keep these reefs colourful for many generations.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why might some corals cope better with warm water than others?
  2. 02If you were designing a fish, what colours would you choose, and why?
  3. 03What does it mean to call somewhere a 'living laboratory'?
Try this

Classroom activity

Each pupil designs a tropical reef fish on A4 paper. Give it bright colours, a special pattern and a useful body part (long spines? stripes for camouflage? a beak-shaped mouth?). Pin the whole class's fish on a wall to make a class reef.