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
Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve is a former nature reserve in Australia’s Coral Sea Islands Territory that was incorporated into the new Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve in December 2012. The former nature reserve together with the Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve is part of the Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site. Its extent is also within the Coringa-Herald Reefs Important Bird Area. The reserve lies to the east of the Great Barrier Reef and covers an area of 8,860 km, most of which is open water. It contains three pairs of islets and cays, the Herald Cays,