Polynesian Reef

Coral Reefs

Since so many coral reefs are suffering from human activities and rising water temperatures, it would be unethical to harvest large amounts of coral for an aquarium. Instead, when aquariums have live corals (as seen in our Eco Zone exhibit), the corals are grown from small polyps. This enables us to take fewer polyps from the ocean and to grow coral in safe, controlled environments. Our Polynesian Reef, however, is far too large to contain live corals so the reef on display is artificial. Using an artificial reef allows us to display a wider variety of fish; if we had a live reef, we would only be able to have the fish that coexist nicely with specific types of corals. These fish would normally thrive in different reefs, but they are able to thrive here in our artificial reef because we supply all the nutrients and hiding spaces that live coral would ordinarily supply.

Coral thrives in shallow waters where sunlight can reach their polyps, which are the individual animals that make up coral. They need this sunlight because they rely on symbiotic algae to photosynthesize and create energy for the coral. In exchange, the symbiotic algae get to live safely within the coral’s tissues. These symbiotic algae along with chromophores (including fluorescent proteins) give the coral their magnificent colors. When corals are stressed they may lose their symbiotic algae and therefore their color. This phenomenon, known as bleaching, can be caused by a variety of stressors including fluctuations in water temperature, nutrients, irradiation, or pollutants. Once a coral is bleached it may die if it does not recruit symbiotic algae back. 

Unfortunately, many of the stressors responsible for bleaching events are the direct result of human activity, and this is a tremendous issue for many reasons. First of all, coral reefs are one of the most important marine habitats. Though they make up only 1% of our oceans, coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine life. Secondly, reefs are essential to humans. They act as a barrier to dangerously high tides, and their biodiversity generates millions of dollars for commercial fishing and the tourism industry. Without protection, it is estimated that coral reefs could be functionally extinct by the year 2040. Thankfully, this is a preventable fate. The Oklahoma Aquarium has already begun making strides towards protecting our reefs by conducting innovative research on stress related fluorescence in corals. But you don’t have to be a scientist to help save our reefs. There are plenty of choices we all make in our daily lives that can improve the health of our oceans. Visit our conservation resources page to learn about how you can take action to help protect coral reefs.

Fun Facts:

• The green moray eel gets its name from its color, but the skin is actually brown. They only appear green because they are covered in a mucus with a yellowish tint. This mucus allows them to creep into tight spaces along reefs without damaging their skin.

• The slingjaw wrasse eats its food by creating a long hose-like shape with its jaws. The bottom jaw, which is detached from the skull, stretches forward to grab food. Their jaws shoot out at incredible lengths—sometimes even as much as half the fish’s body length.

• The unicorn tang’s horn might seem like the perfect weapon, but unicornfish actually fight with one another using sharp barbs on the sides of their tails. As for the horn, scientists still don’t know what purpose it serves—but it sure looks fabulous!

Fish Species on Exhibit:

Angelfish:

• Annularis angelfish

• Asfur angel

• Bar angelfish

• Black spot angel

• Halfmoon angelfish

• King angelfish

• Koran angelfish

• Regal angelfish

Tang:

• Achilles tang

• Chevron tang

• Convict tang

• Epaulette tang

• Lemon peel tang

• Mata tang

• Orange shoulder tang

• Powder blue and powder brown tang

• Purple tang

• Sailfin tang

• Sleek unicorn tang

• Sohal tang

• Tomini tang

• Yellow masked tang

Damselfish:

• Bowtie damselfish

• Domino damsel

• Reticulated damselfish

• Striped damselfish

Wrasse:

• Banana wrasse

• Bird wrasse

• Checkerboard wrasse

• Humphead wrasse

• Red-breasted wrasse

• Slingjaw wrasse

Triggerfish:

• Blue-cheeked triggerfish

• Clown triggerfish

• Picasso trigger

Rabbitfish:

• Blue spot rabbitfish

• Foxface rabbitfish

• Golden saddle rabbitfish

• Orange spot rabbitfish

Butterflyfish:

• Golden butterflyfish

• Ocellate butterflyfish

• Pyramid butterflyfish

• Saddleback butterflyfish

• Vagabond butterflyfish 

Hawkfish:

• Flame hawk

• Forster’s hawk 

Grouper

• Panther grouper

• Vermillion grouper

Sweetlips:

• Oriental sweetlips

• Striped sweetlips

Other Fish:

• Crimson soldierfish

• Harlequin tusk

• Longfin bannerfish

• Lyretail hogfish

• Monocle bream

• Orbicular batfish

• Quoy’s parrotfish

• Redbelly yellowtail fusilier

• Red coris