Chasing Coral Flashcards
Coral one animal and or many polyps
many polyps
What are polyps
Single tiny organisms that are attached to corals
What lives inside the tissues of the polyp animal?
Small plants that photosynthesize
What is the function of these cells that live inside the polyp?
Photosynthesis
How does coral grow
Photosynthesis during day and during night they expand their polyps
When is the animal part of coral active?
at night
When did scientists first observe the phenomenon of coral bleaching?
When airport reef was bleached very quickly
What was the only thing researchers could find that could cause corals to turn white?
raise in temp 2 degrees
What did researchers think the cause was
global warming
Does a temperature rise of 2 degrees really matter?
fatal over time
When will corals start to bleach?
when temp rises
Why does the color of the coral change to “white’?
Flesh becomes clear, skeleton of coral reefs
How do you identify dying or dead coral?
Microalgae, coral becomes fuzzy
How is coral’s relationship to microalgae different from most symbiotic relationships?
Coral does not exist without these plant cells, completely reliant on each other, much deeper than most symbiotic relationships, ives inside animals tissue
What is driving global climate change?
What is driving global climate change?
