Beast Of The Day (Midterm 1)

Question 1

(1) Stag horn and Elkhorn corals

Answer 1

-aka Acropora cevicornis and Acorpora palmata
-limited to Caribbean and south Florida
-fast growing corals
-broadcast spawners: release eggs and sperm into water column
-very good at asexual reproduction via coral fragments and starting new colonies
-dominant major reef building corals in the Caribbean
-1980s: white band disease killed majority of Acropora in Caribbean
-asexual repro means lower recovery from disturbances and low genetic diversity
-growing fragments and implanting can help restoration

Question 2

(2) Social Shrimp

Answer 2

-aka synalpheus
- found in the Caribbean
-parasite that lives inside sponges Xestosongia and eats its tissue
-socially organized species
-1 reproducing female (queen with no claws), several large reproducing males, and lots of non-reproductive individuals (defend the colony with large, snapping claws)
-only known eusocial marine organisms
-eusociality: multigenerational, cooperative colonies with strongly skewed reproductive output, all offspring are very closely related (share 50% of genes)

Question 3

(3) Giant Barrel Spounge

Answer 3

-Xestospongia muta
-Florida and Caribbean waters, shallow reefs
-one large osculum, that pumps water out
-indeterminate growth (grow as long as alive)
-filter feeders-also have mutualistic Cyanobacteria in tissues that provide energy
-broadcast spawners: produces either sperm or eggs at 1 time
-cyclical bleaching: loose symbionts in Fall and recovers by spring
-sponge orange band syndrome: potential disease rather than Cyanobacteria bleaching
-bleached sponges are preyed on by parrot and angel fishes, facilitating the breakdown of the sponge
-threats:damage from fishing lines/debris, capacity for recovery from storms/damage

Question 4

(4) Caribbean Spiny Lobster

Answer 4

-Panulirus argus
-Caribbean, subtropic Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico
-sexually dimorphic
-gregarious: dens with individuals together
-omnivores, but does have dominant carnivores
-nocturnal foraging, eats slow moving benthic prey
-mate during March-June
-mass lobster migrations to deep reefs by taking advantage of currents and increasing dispersal range
-larvae are solitary and aggressive
-threatened by commercial and recreational fisheries