Coral Reef Ecosystem

Question 1

Where do reefs grow?

Answer 1

• thrive in water that is clean, clear, sunlit, shallow with warm temperatures.

Question 2

What is a Coral Reef?

Answer 2

Coral is an animal with a unique polyp structure that builds a hard, rock-like like skeletal base, and holds symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae.

Question 3

how are corals classified?

Answer 3

Coral is an invertebrate marine organism of the class Anthozoa (phylum Cnidaria).

Question 4

What are the two groups of corals?

Answer 4

hermatypes or hard corals that build reefs and ahermatypes or soft corals.

Question 5

Describe the corals body

Answer 5

The body of a coral animal is called the polyp, a hollow sac-like structure, with a mouth surrounded by tentacles, and inside the body is a stomach.

Question 6

What does the tentacles of the coral reefs contain ?

Answer 6

The sticky tentacles contain stinging structures, called nematocysts, that enable the polyp to gather food usually at night-time by paralyzing its passing prey. The tentacles then deposit the food in the mouth where it passes down into the stomach.

Question 7

What does the stomach contain?

Answer 7

Within the stomach are long, tubular filaments that the polyp extends to defend itself from attack by other encroaching coral.

Question 8

What does the hard corals extract ?

Answer 8

The polyps of the hard corals extract calcium carbonate from the sea water and use it to build a hard-external limestone skeleton beneath and around their base which secures the fragile polyp to a surface and serves as its protection.

Question 9

Who does coral have a symbolic relationship with?

Answer 9

Within the tissue of the polyp live many microscopic algae or plant cells called zooxanthellae. These algal cells have a symbiotic relationship (mutualism- association between organisms of two different species in which each benefits.) with the coral.

Question 10

How does corals benefit zooxanthellae?

Answer 10

Corals provide zooxanthellae with protection, a place to live, nutrients and carbon dioxide, a by-product of respiration, which is vital for photosynthesis.

Zooxanthellae photosynthesize (make their own food) using sunlight and the coral’s waste products to produce oxygen and sugars.

Question 11

How does zooxanthellae benefit corals?

Answer 11

The oxygen is used by the polyp for respiration and the sugar are used for energy to build its limestone skeleton. The coral’s colour comes from the colour of the zooxanthellae living in the polyp’s tissue.

Question 12

What happens if coral is in the absence of zooxanthellae?

Answer 12

If the polyps go for too long without zooxanthellae, coral bleaching can result in the coral’s death.

Question 12

What is Coral Bleaching?

Answer 12

When the temperature of the water is too warm, corals will expel the algae living in their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white.

Question 13

How does coral reproduce asexually ?

Answer 13

Polyps live in close association with each other forming a colony (a cluster of coral polyps connected) that act as a single organism. The colony is produced by asexual reproduction by a process called budding.

Question 14

How does corals reproduce sexually?

Answer 14

Polyps also reproduce sexually, they release sperm and eggs into the water, which join to form the planula which forms new reefs.

Question 15

What are Hard Corals? ( describe )

Answer 15

Reef-building corals, which secrete a hard-external limestone skeleton. They have tentacles in multiples of six and can be found either individually or in colonies. These hard-coral colonies exhibit three basic growth forms: branching, massive, and plate.

Question 16

Examples of hard corals ?

Answer 16

Common types of hard corals are Brain Coral, Staghorn Coral, and Elkhorn Coral.

Question 17

What are soft corals adaptions ?

Answer 17

Soft corals also grow in colonies on the reef, but do not build reefs. They are supported by tiny spines on their skeleton. Their soft skeleton allows them to bend, wave, sway, and spread out in the water. Some of the soft corals produce toxic compounds that make them unappetizing to predators.

Soft corals secrete a flexible or soft skeleton. They have eight tentacl

Question 18

Examples of Soft corals?

Answer 18

Common types of soft corals are sea fan, and sea whip coral.

Question 19

Where does soft corals thrive ?

Answer 19

Soft corals thrive in strong currents where they have access to lots of plankton. They also grow well in a strong rumend corals cannot grow, such as dark caves and overhangs.

Question 20

BIODIVERSITY, FOOD PRODUCTION, SHELTER

Benefits of Coral Reefs

Answer 20

Biodiversity: spawning (release or deposit eggs), nursery, breeding, and feeding grounds for numerous organisms.

Food Production: provide a large feeding area for a large variety of organisms, and they exchange energy and nutrients with other marine ecosystems.

Shelter: provide shelter and a habitat for thousands of species of organisms.

Question 21

Storm Protection, Economy, Medicine

Benefits of Coral Reefs?

Answer 21

Storm Protection: coral reefs break waves during storms and hurricanes, protecting shorelines from erosion, flooding, and keeping beaches and coastal communities intact.

Economy: provide a huge source of income and millions of jobs around the world. Reef dependent fisheries include subsistence, commercial, recreational, and ornamental. Tourism is an economic mainstay for many countries with coral reefs, as people come to dive, snorkel, boat, and fish.

Medicine: Treatments for cancer, AIDS, infection, arthritis asthma, herpes, ond even broken bones are being discovered in coral reef ecosystems around the world.

Question 22

What are the threats to Coral Reefs

Answer 22

Natural Threats to coral reefs include:

• hurricanes and storms
• sea-level changes (ex: decreased sea level);
• fluctuations in seawater temperatures (ex: increase temperature);
• extreme low tides that dry coral out, disease and plagues

Question 23

What are the Human caused threats ?

Answer 23

• Coral Harvesting to make jewellery, gift store curios, coffee table knick-knacks, and aquarium habitat. Under optimum conditions, many corals take 37 years to regenerate.
• Chemicals, such as chlorine-based cleaning solutions, heavy metals, and minerals from mining and other industrial pollution are poisonous to marine animals.
• Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect Greenhouse gases are causing an increase in sea temperatures, sea levels, and violent storms negatively affect corals.
  The weakened coral becomes more susceptible to disease and coral bleaching.

Question 24

Ways to conserve coral?

Answer 24

• Marine protected areas e. g. Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park . Limited human activity to cause damage to coral polyps; residents of the reef can grow and reproduce without human interference
• Public Education to educate people of the importance and threats of the reef.
• Obey fishing regulations to protect endangered species and prevent consequently lessening the biodiversity of the reef.
• Practice safe and responsible boating, diving and snorkelling to prevent damage to the reef structure
• Reduce pollution and put measures in place to combat pollution
• Put measures in place to combat deforestation
• Prevention and control of invasive species to keep the coral from being outcompeted for space, nutrients, and oxygen

Question 25

Describe the formation of coral reefs

Answer 25

Hard corals provide the main structural framework. The coral polyps of hard corals extract calcium carbonate from seawater and use it to secrete a limestone skeleton.

After the coral polyp dies, it leaves behind its limestone skeleton. Along with other organisms, such as coralline algae which trap and stick sand together and stabilize the reef. The reef building process is slow, hence coral reefs are built over decades and centuries.