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Bio 361- marine science > Coral Reef > Flashcards

Coral Reef Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

what is a reef?

A
  • solid structure made of and by living things
  • build upwards
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2
Q

what kind of record do reefs leave?

A

geological

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3
Q

what were past reefs called?

A

bioherms - mounds (lens shaped)
biostromes - flat (laterally extensive)

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4
Q

how long have reefs existed for?

A

450 MY

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5
Q

what were original reefs made of and which Order?

A

corals
Rugosa

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6
Q

when did modern reef-building corals arise?

A

triassic in order Scleractinia

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7
Q

where are rugose corals found?

A

rocky mtn

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8
Q

where is the origin of recent corals?

A

Tethys Sea

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9
Q

describe Tethy Sea

A
  • shallow large sea
  • tropical (warm)
  • ancestors of corals today -> since evolved from corals that lived in shallow, warm water then corals today grow in same conditions
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10
Q

describe the Great Barrier Reef

A
  • young
  • migrated N to warmer water
  • N is the oldest and thickest
  • S is youngest and less than 10 MYO
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11
Q

where do coral reefs form?

A

shallow and warm tropical water

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12
Q

what do coral reefs need?

A
  • bright sunlight for photosynthesis of algal symbionts
  • wave or current action for nutrients -> regions of lower turbidity is ideal because clearer the water the more sunlight that will reach algal symbionts
  • low turbidity for photosynthesis not to be inhibited
  • hard substrate for attachment -> no growth on sand or mud, new gen grow on skeletons of previous gen
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13
Q

what are the main builders of reefs?

A

scleractinian (hard or stony corals)

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14
Q

what are hard corals also known as?

A

hexacorals -> feeding tentacles in groups of 6

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15
Q

what kind of grouping do scleractinian’s have?

A

colonial -> billions of individual polyps make up colony

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16
Q

how many tentacles do soft corals have?

A

8 or more around moth (octocorals)

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17
Q

describe the soft coral skeleton

A

either no calcified skeleton, or some small fragments of calcified
skeleton in collagen, or protein skeleton
- don’t provide as much structure to reef as hard corals do

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18
Q

what kind of coral is included in soft corals?

A

gorgonian corals - fan shaped corals with flexible protein stalk that allows them to reach out into currents
- fan faces the current in order to capture as many nutrients as possible

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19
Q

what are reef-building corals?

A

hermatypic - build bioherms

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20
Q

what do corals have and how do they get food energy?

A
  • zooxanthellae
  • algal symbionts provide coral with food energy to build aragonite skeleton during day
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21
Q

how are prey captured?

A

nematocysts at night

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22
Q

what kind of polyps are corals?

A

solitary polyps or colony of polyps
- polyps secrete skeleton of calcium carbonate

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23
Q

what are zooxanthellae?

A

dinoflagellates

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24
Q

how are dinoflagellates acquired?

A

from enviro or from parent during larval development

25
Q

where do dinoflagellates live?

A

in coral gastrodermis

26
Q

how do dinoflagellates enter?

A

through phagocytosis
- intracellular

27
Q

what is the most common species for dinoflagellates?

A

symbiodinium

28
Q

where do zooxanthellae live?

A

in endodermis - tissue lining gut

29
Q

what covers the calcium skeleton?

A

living tissue of coral forms a thin veneer

30
Q

what do corals capture at night?

A

plankton
- respire O2, produce CO2 and ammonia

31
Q

what do corals do during the day?

A

algae photosynthesize, produce O2, amino acids and sugars

32
Q

what do algae do?

A
  • Receive CO2 and some NO3 (nitrate) from coral host
  • Use sunlight, H2O and CO2 to make organic matter (photosynthesis)
  • ‘Leak’ O2, amino acids, sugars to coral host
  • Produce carbonate ions (CO3^2-) in host tissue
33
Q

what do corals do?

A

Makes CaCO3 [Ca^2+ & CO3^2-] (gets Ca2+ from seawater; carbonate from algal symbiont)
* Secretes CaCO3 (calcium carbonate) as a skeleton
* Produces CO2 by respiration (this is used by the algae)

34
Q

how does calcification work?

A

Ca2+ + 2HCO3 ->
Ca(HCO3)2 -> CaCO3 + H2CO3

(calcium + bicarbonate -> calcium bicarbonate -> calcium carbonate + carbonic acid)

35
Q

how does carbonic acid resolve?

A

resolves itself into CO2 and water

36
Q

where does calcium carbonate crystallize?

A

onto existing aragonite crystals making coral’s hard skeleton

37
Q

what does calcification enhance?

A

photosynthesis

38
Q

what does photosynthesis enhance?

A

calcification

39
Q

what does calcification produce and what is it used by?

A

produces co2 and used by algal symbionts

40
Q

what does photosynthesis produce and what are they used by?

A

o2 and sugars and used by coral host
- positive feedback relationship

41
Q

what are the factors used to enhance calcification?

A
  1. Light: Corals grow 14 times faster under light than in the dark.
    - calcium uptake is highest at mid-day on a clear sunny day.
    - on a cloudy day, the rate is 50% lower,
    - in the dark the rate is 90% lower.
    - calcium deposition rate rapidly decreases as depth increases.
  2. Temperature: 25-30 degrees C -> shallow water near equator gets warm and stays warm
  3. Clear water (5-10m depths) -> shallow water allows for better light penetration
  4. Slightly elevated salinity -> rarely see corals in estuaries bc freshwater inflow there
  5. Shape (branching grow faster than sphere shaped) -> covering more area to capture more nutrients and sunlight
  6. Age (younger grow faster than old)
42
Q

what theory is used to describe how all types of reefs form?

A

darwin’s theory of how atolls form

43
Q

what are fringing reefs?

A

along margin of landmass
limited growth due to runoff from land which generates turbidity (cloudy water = reduced photosynthesis)

44
Q

what are barrier reefs?

A

separated from land by lagoon
- grow quite far from land

45
Q

what are platform reefs?

A

reef forms flat surface

46
Q

what are atoll reefs?

A

landmass submerged
reef encloses shallow lagoon

47
Q

how come coral isn’t sinking?

A

land sinks slowly and coral reefs also build slowly so as land sinks the coral reef solidifies

48
Q

what kind of reefs are found in GBR?

A
  • fringing reefs(N)
  • barrier reefs (full length of GBR is barrier reef)
  • platform reefs and atolls along whole GBR
49
Q

in what direction do reefs grow towards?

A

toward wind and waves and current -> new nutrients come from

50
Q

what is the advancing edge called?

A

reef crest

51
Q

what is below the reef crest?

A

reef slope -> area of strong wave energy but high nutrients

52
Q

what is behind the crest protected by?

A

wind and waves - reef flat

53
Q

what is a coral bombie?

A

massive coral head that withstands wave energy

54
Q

what does spur and groove formation do?

A

dissipates wave energy

55
Q

Montastrea annularis zone

A

lower on reef, strong withstands wave force

56
Q

Acropora cervicornis zone

A

reef crest - like breaking since that allows it to reproduce asexually
- helps reproduce better

57
Q

Elkhorn coral

A

fast growing in shallow water
- fragment easily storms
- delicate

58
Q

describe the leeward side of the structure

A

more lush coral due to less wind stress
away from wind and current

59
Q

describe the windward side of structure

A

towards wind and currents
- traps sediment which protects coral

Bio 361- marine science (20 decks)

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