Coral polyps are short lived microorganisms which lives in colonies. They flourish in shallow, mud free and warm waters. They secrete calcium carbonate. The coral secretion and their skeletons form coral deposits and reefs. In India, Lakshadweep Island is of coral origin. It covers a small area of 32 sq. Km. Kavaratti is the administrative head quarter of Lakshadweep. On the basis of the above paragraph, answer the following questions. a. What are coral polyps? b. State the formation of Coral Reefs. c. Name the island formed due to Coral Origin. d. Which is the administrative head quarter of the given Island.
Answers
a) Coral polyps are soft-bodied microorganisms with a hard protective limestone skeletal base called a calicle which forms the base of the famous coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the most famous coral reef system. Hundreds of thousands of polyps together form the coral structure. Almost all corals are colonial organisms.
b) As mentioned before, hundreds and thousands of polyps form coral reefs. But this formation begins when individual coral larvae attach themselves to a submerged rock or any other hard place underwater. As these reefs continue to grow, they eventually form a structure depending on how they spread/appear. The structure can be formed in one of the three ways mentioned below -
- When they surround the coast of a volcanic island
- When the coral reef surrounding the coast spreads upwards as the land starts to submerge slowly
- When they separate a mass of water surrounding it as the volcanic island it surrounded submerged completely
c) Lakshwadeep islands are the group of islands formed due to Coral Origin
d)Kavaratti Island is the administrative headquarter of the Lakshwadeep Islands.