Many different animals and plants live and grow on the reef, and they all work together to make up the ecosystem. Did you know that corals are animals, too? They look like rocks, or sometimes like plants, but corals are actually tiny animals that build the reefs for structure and protection, sort of like a snail's shell. When the coral reef is healthy, all the animals living on it are, too! This is why it is very important that the people living in Belize learn how to protect the coral reef so that all the animals in the ecosystem, including the fish that the people eat, will be healthy.
In Canada, there are no coral reefs because the water is too cold, but there still are underwater ecosystems. Just like in Belize, it is important for the people living in Canada to take care of the ocean, so that the ecosystem is healthy and the fish that they eat can continue to grow and reproduce (have babies). A big part of marine biology is learning how to work with local people to teach them how to care about and protect the ocean near their homes. In order to be able to communicate with people in other places, it is important that I can speak their language. That is why I am in Chile this semester!
I traveled here to South America to practice my Spanish, because it is one of the most important languages in this part of the world. Many of the countries in Central and South America have very important marine ecosystems along their coasts that need to be protected, so I want to be able to talk to the people here about biology in their own language.
