Coral Reef Exam Review

Question 1

What type of organisms make up coral reefs?

Answer 1

Polyps

Question 2

What percentage of the ocean floor do coral reefs make up

Answer 2

Less than 1%

Question 3

What temperature range do coral reefs generally thrive in?

Answer 3

73 to 84 °F

Question 4

What is the name of the symbiotic algae that helps feed the coral and gives coral its color?

Answer 4

Zooxanthellae

Question 5

Why are coral reefs important for millions of people throughout the world?

Answer 5

Provide food, research, jobs, and protection

Question 6

Diseases that coral reefs have provided the medical compounds that developed life saving medicines for.

Answer 6

Cancer, HIV, malaria

Question 7

What percentage have coral reefs declined over the last 30 years?

Answer 7

40-50%

Question 8

Conditions that cause stress to coral

Answer 8

Changes in temperature, light, nutrients

Question 9

How do coral respond to stress?

Answer 9

Expel Zooxanthellae (bleaching)

Question 10

What is the main type of competitor to coral and thrives in conditions where coral struggles to survive?

Answer 10

Turf algae

Question 11

What happens to coral if they expel their zooxanthellae?

Answer 11

Harder to survive, die

Question 12

Coral belongs to what kingdom

Answer 12

Animalia

Question 13

Coral belong to what phylum

Answer 13

Cnidaria

Question 14

Coral are in the same phylum as their cousins…

Answer 14

Jelly fish and sea anemone

Question 15

What do coral, jellyfish, and sea anemones have in common?

Answer 15

soft bodied and stinging tentacles

Question 16

What herbivorous fish help coral by feeding on fast growing algae?

Answer 16

Parrotfish

Question 17

Indirect threats to coral reefs

Answer 17

climate change, rising sea level, changing storm patterns, changes in precipitation, altered ocean currents

Question 18

How much heat does the ocean absorb from the planet due to the increase in carbon dioxide levels?

Answer 18

over 90%

Question 19

direct threats to coral reefs

Answer 19

pollution, overfishing, careless recreation

Question 20

What percentage of global fish markets have been overfished?

Answer 20

90%

Question 21

Nutrients that pollute the ocean

Answer 21

Nitrogen and Phosphorus

Question 22

What sources cause nutrient pollution

Answer 22

sewage and agricultural runoff

Question 23

What condition does excess algal growth from nutrients lead to in the ocean?

Answer 23

eutrophication and dead zones

Question 24

examples of chemical pollution

Answer 24

oil spills, pesticides, medical waste, sunscreen, dispersants

Question 25

define and describe sedimentation

Answer 25

when sediments like soil, silt, and sand enter the ocean causing water to become murky

Question 26

harmful conditions caused by coastal development

Answer 26

dredging, pollution, deforestation of mangroves, runoff

Question 27

3 threats to coral reefs that goal 14 attempts to address

Answer 27

ocean acidification, pollution, overfishing

Question 28

Since 2015, what percentage of marine environments have been declared as a marine protected environment?

Answer 28

16%

Question 29

The marine protected act has benefited reefs by what actions?

Answer 29

Increasing fish population, safe space for the development of marine species

Question 30

What actions have fishing businesses and industries taken to help protect marine resources?

Answer 30

increased efficiency, less bycatch, traceability of products

Question 31

How have universities attempted to help protect coral reefs?

Answer 31

Coral restoration, more resilient genotypes, research on how corals mature and reproduce

Question 32

What people can do to protect coral reefs

Answer 32

reduce reuse recycle

Question 33

One of the easiest ways to become an ocean advocate

Answer 33

post it on social media

Question 34

How tourists can promote responsible tourism while on vacation by the ocean

Answer 34

avoid harming coral reefs, good buoyancy control, using providers with good track records, only buy sustainable souvineers

Question 35

What percentage of marine life live on coral reefs?

Answer 35

25%

Question 36

Approximately how many different types of coral exist today

Answer 36

over 800 species

Question 37

What are the exoskeletons of coral made out of?

Answer 37

calcium carbonate