In addition to weather, corals are vulnerable to predation. Fish, marine worms, barnacles, crabs, snails and sea stars all prey on the soft inner tissues of coral polyps. In extreme cases, entire reefs can be devastated if predator populations become too high.

8:16 9:18 These tend to have a few or particles. In there for capture. But they generally tend to be a mix ofMoreThese tend to have a few or particles. In there for capture. But they generally tend to be a mix of things like glucose and amino acids. So they're a bit of a sports drink for your corals.

Many grow optimally in water temperatures between 73° and 84° Fahrenheit (23°–29°Celsius), but some can tolerate temperatures as high as 104° Fahrenheit (40° Celsius) for short periods. Most reef-building corals also require very saline (salty) water ranging from 32 to 42 parts per thousand.

Finally, the coral community would not be complete without the creatures that make up nature's cleaning crew. These decomposers include the crabs and lobsters that scavenge for food, feeding on decaying plants and animals.

The decomposers are the polychaete worm and the queen conch. How is energy transfered through a food web? Energy is transfered through the consumption of organisms.

Corals are carnivores that eat zooplankton. Like many other animals in their Phylum (Cnidaria) and Class (Anthozoa), their cells have specialized stingers with barbs (called nematocysts) that can stun their prey—tiny shrimp and other crustaceans.

Corals get their food from algae living in their tissues or by capturing and digesting prey. Most reef-building corals have a unique partnership with tiny algae called zooxanthellae. The algae live within the coral polyps, using sunlight to make sugar for energy.