5.2 Tropical Coral Reef

Question 1

Cnidarians

Answer 1

Marine animals that capture food using stinging cells

Question 2

Cnidocytes

Answer 2

Stinging cells that cover the tentacles of cnidarians

Question 3

Polyp

Answer 3

Non-moving, cup-like life stage of cnidarians

Question 4

Nematocyst

Answer 4

The harpoon-like organelle inside of cnidocytes that contains toxin to be delivered to the prey

Question 5

Basal Plate

Answer 5

Lower part of the coral calyx that separates the polyp from the substrate

Question 6

Calyx

Answer 6

The stony cup in which a coral polyp lives its life

Question 7

Theca

Answer 7

Walls of the calyx

Question 8

Hard Corals

Answer 8

Stony corals capable of reef-building that have a relationship with zooxanthellae

Question 9

Soft Corals

Answer 9

Corals that do not build reefs and lack calcification

Question 10

Zooxanthellae

Answer 10

Symbiotic, photosynthetic dinoflagellates living within the tissues of many invertebrates

Question 11

Fringing Reef

Answer 11

A reef close to and surrounding newer volcanic islands or that borders continental landmasses

Question 12

Barrier Reef

Answer 12

A reef separated by a lagoon from the land mass with which it is associated

Question 13

Atoll

Answer 13

A coral reef somewhat circular in shape with a central lagoon

Question 14

Patch Reef

Answer 14

Small, isolated reef usually located within the lagoon of a barrier reef

Question 15

Lagoon

Answer 15

A shallow, sheltered body of water with a soft sediment bottom

Question 16

Reef Erosion

Answer 16

When a coral loses more of its calcium carbonate skeleton per year than it gains

Question 17

Bioerosion

Answer 17

Reef erosion caused by living organisms

Question 18

Ocean Acidification

Answer 18

A process where the pH of the ocean is reduced over an extended period of time; generally attributed to a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide

Question 19

Climate Change

Answer 19

Changes in global or regional climate patterns since the late twentieth century

Question 20

Coral Bleaching

Answer 20

Whitening of coral that results from the loss of a coral’s symbiotic zooxanthellae

Question 21

Desiccation

Answer 21

The removal of moisture or drying out of an organism

Question 22

Artificial Reef

Answer 22

An underwater structure built by humans to mimic the characteristics of a natural reef