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7th Grade UBD - Unit 8– The Pacific Realm and Oceania

Coral reefs contain some
of the largest diversity of
life in the world. They are
home to thousands of
different plants and
animals. For example,
coral reefs in the Florida
Keys sustain 500 species
of fish, more than 1,700
species of mollusks, five
species of sea turtles,
and hundreds of species
of sponges.

Coral reefs are typically
found at a depth less
than 150 feet so that
they are reachable by
sunlight. Coral contains
microscopic algae that
provide the coral with
food and give them their
vibrant colors and grow
on average about 1 mm
to 4cm per year.

Coral reefs are made up of
primitive animals related to
jellyfish. Each individual coral is a
tiny polyp, a very simple
organism consisting mostly of a
stomach topped by a tentaclebearing mouth and is surrounded
by a calcium carbonate
exoskeleton that it secretes.
Thousands of these identical
polyps live together, each
embedded in the calcium
carbonate exoskeleton, which
over long periods of time forms
the structure of the reef. The
coral animals use their tentacles
to sting and ingest plankton and
other small creatures.

Coral reefs are scattered
throughout the tropical and
subtropical Western Atlantic and
Indo-Pacific Oceans. Western
Atlantic coral reefs include these
areas: Bermuda, the Bahamas, the
Caribbean Islands, Belize, Florida,
and the Gulf of Mexico. The IndoPacific Ocean region extends from
the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf
through the Indian and Pacific
Oceans to the western coast of
Panama. Coral grows on rocky
outcrops in some areas of the Gulf
of California.
Step One
This is going to be wicked
fun to draw watch and
see. Start by drawing
three sets of horizontal
lines for your ocean floor.
You will then draw the
mountain like mound
that you see here and
then draw a small circle
shape. Once that is done
draw the guidelines for
the different types of
coral you will be drawing.
Step Two
You will start by drawing
out the octopus’s
tentacles. Once this is
done you can move to
the right side and begin
sketching out the shape
of your first coral of this
reef.
Step Three
You will now finish
sketching out the pipe
coral and begin drawing
the bamboo like coral
you see just below the
pipe coral. Once that is
done you can start
sketching out the
beginning of the ocean
floor by adding some
rocks and detail to the
sand.
Step Four
As you can see your coral
reef is coming together
just beautifully. What you
will do now is draw the
mountain shaped rock,
and then add some sea
critters like a starfish,
and more different types
of corals. You can draw
some spongy coral, or
different cup corals too if
you like. Once that is
done draw the long
wispy shape of some sea
grass as you see in the
background.
Step Five
In this step you will start
sketching out the head
and face of that cute
octopus you see here.
Next draw more
underwater plants as well
as add some detail to the
bottom of the ocean
floor. Once you are done
here, you can move to
the next and last drawing
step to finish off your
coral reef drawing.
Step Six
I know I said that this was
your last step but, I had
to say that to keep you
guys moving further
without hesitation . You
will now finish drawing
out the right pipe coral
you see and then add
some detail to the ocean
floor as well as to that
dirt mound to the lower
right hand corner. Once
you are done you can
then proceed onto the
last drawing step.
Step Seven
All you will do here is
detail the pipe coral and
draw in a small little fish.
You can start erasing all
the guidelines and
shapes that you drew in
step one to clean up your
ocean.
Step Eight
You are now done
learning "how to draw a
coral reef". Color it in
using vibrant shades. You
did an awesome job!