About This Quiz
The Great Barrier Reef, situated along the northeastern coast of Australia, is a marine ecosystem unrivaled by any other in the world. Renowned for its natural, unchanged beauty, it is visited by millions of tourists every year. Take this quiz to learn more about this natural aquatic wonderland.There are about 600 islands in the Great Barrier Reef, along the northeast coast of Australia.
Advertisement
Captain James Cook crashed his sailing ship into the reef in 1770 and thus "discovered" it.
Advertisement
It contains thousands of spectacular coral reefs.
Advertisement
It is growing on top of older reefs believed to be hundreds of thousands of years old.
Advertisement
A barrier reef (one of several types of reef) is separated from land by a wide, deep lagoon.
Advertisement
Fringing reefs are similar to barrier reefs in this respect. They both lie parallel to coastline.
Advertisement
They often grow on top of underwater hills in oval-shaped manner.
Advertisement
They're in great abundance in the northernmost area, called Far Northern.
Advertisement
The further south you go, the cooler the temperature gets and this is unsuited for coral growth.
Advertisement
They're called cays and they support a variety of plant communities.
Advertisement
There are about 250 types of shrimp and 30 species of whales and dolphins, so the answer has to be mollusks. That's right, there are 4,000 types of mollusks in the reef.
Advertisement
They can reach up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length and weigh more than 440 pounds (200 kilos).
Advertisement
Yes, this is true. Some sea snakes have venom 20 times more poisonous than that of the most poisonous land snakes.
Advertisement
The crown-of-thorns starfish is one of the biggest threats, having already decimated the coral colonies twice in the last 50 years.
Advertisement
It could take 10 years to regenerate.
Advertisement
Under the federal government and the Queensland state government, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is charged with this mission.
Advertisement
Fishing, boating and swimming -- as well as certain other activities -- are permitted in these zones.
Advertisement
The general public is forbidden to enter these zones. They are designated solely for scientific research.
Advertisement
The "no-take" clause refers to the ban on taking anything from there, so one can't collect shells or go fishing there, for example.
Advertisement
Using a part of the coral that secretes a certain protective coating, they are researching the development of a sunscreen.
Advertisement