Coral reef a protective area, or it may lie between the reef and the shore, and in this case is a flat, rocky area. Fish tend to prefer it when it is present. The reef lagoon is an entirely enclosed region, which creates an area less affected by wave action and often contains small reef patches. However, the "topography of coral reefs is constantly changing. Each reef is made up of irregular patches of algae, sessile invertebrates, and bare rock and sand. The size, shape and relative abundance of these patches changes from year to year in response to the various factors
Coral reef fish wriggle into crevices and holes and extract prey inaccessible to other reef sharks. On the other hand, they are rather clumsy when attempting to take food suspended in open water. The whitetip reef shark does not frequent very shallow water like the blacktip reef shark, nor the outer reef like the grey reef shark. They generally remain within a highly localized area. An individual shark may use the same cave for months to years. The daytime home range of a whitetip reef shark is limited to about , and at night this range increases to . The whitetip reef shark