Everything you need to know about Corals.
After watching 'Finding Nemo' and 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara', I have been looking forward to the day when I will finally be able to witness the beautiful Coral Reefs with my own eyes. Now, that they are dying, I fear that the day would never come. What are corals? Until a few years ago, I used to think Corals were plants. My childhood self could no t have been more wrong. Turns out, corals are actually invertebrate animals that are a part of a larger group of colourful and extremely interesting animals called Cnidaria. Each individual coral animal is called a polyp. And within each polyp resides algae called 'zooxanthellae' (quite a mouthful right?). The reason why corals are so pretty is because of the zooxanthellae, let's name it 'zoox' for the time being. The zoox and the corals have a symbiotic relationship; a fancy word for a 'mutually beneficial relationship'. The corals provide a secure shelter for the zoox to live and on the other ...
