Exam #1 Flashcards
Belize History and Overview History of Taxonomy Iconic Ecosystems Where Corals Are Corals in Space and Time Types of Reefs Phylum Cnidaria
Belize
It is located between Mexico and Guatemala. (means muddy water in Mayan)
Districts of Belize
Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek, Toledo
British Honduras
Former name from 1786-1973.
1 US dollar
2 Belizean dollars
Mayan Civilization
Center of Mayan Civilization
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS)
Second largest barrier reef system, UNESCO world heritage site
Mesoamerican Biological Corridor
is a significant conservation initiative aimed at preserving biodiversity and facilitating wildlife movement across Central America.
Continental slope/shelf
The steep line of land leading from the ocean floor to the continent/coast
They were the first country to ban…
bottom-trawling and gill nets
Prevailing winds and currents
winds that blow consistently in a given direction over a particular region on Earth
Biodiversity triangle
In the Indopacific
Algal mat
Intermediate areas of nutrient input such as along eastern coasts and lagoons of oceanic high islands will favor algae because they can respond quicker to pulses of nutrients. But corals can persist due to grazing of
algae mat by herbivores.
Charismatic marine megafauna
Larger animals: sharks, dolphins, turtles, whales
Second largest barrier reef
Mesoamerican barrier reef system
Kriol
culture composed of a people of mixed African, Caribbean, and Spanish heritage.
Garifuna
people are of Caribbean, people of lesser Antilles, and people of African descent
Paleozoic Era
- In mid-Triassic, at least seven and possibly nine suborders of Scleractinia with no known common ancestor – possibly anemone-like – few fossils
- Evolution of calcium carbonate went back and forth many times
- Calcium carbonate crystal was calcite
- First corals were small and solitary
- The end-Triassic extinction ended in 18 out of 667 genera surviving and a hiatus in reef-building that lasted 4-10 million years. The end result was a substantially new fauna
- Zooxanthellae symbiosis probably evolved independently in tertiary period
Mesozoic Era
- In mid-Triassic, at least seven and possibly nine suborders of Scleractinia with no known common ancestor – possibly anemone-like – few fossils
- The end-Triassic extinction ended in 18 out of 667 genera surviving and a hiatus in reef-building that lasted 4-10 million years. The end result was a substantially new fauna
Tertiary Period
Zooxanthellae symbiosis probably evolved independently in tertiary
period
Cretaceous Period
- Contains the last great proliferation of corals destined for extinction
- Time of major sea level change – decreasing sea levels
- Decreased carbonate production
- Warmer temperatures
- All major families extant today were established
- The extinction of most marine reptiles, both orders of dinosaurs, all ammonites, a major proportion of bivalves and forams, and radiolarians
Jurassic Period
- Great proliferation probably due to first possible circum-global circulation
- At beginning, not many genera, middle reef development proliferated in present-day Europe and Mediterranean, but late Jurassic probably maximum of coral diversity with 150 recorded in Tethys and 51 in Panthalassa.
Triassic Period
- One supercontinent, Pangea, and one enormous sea, the Panthalassa, nearly twice as wide as the current equatorial pacific.
- Global geography from then until now is based on the breakup of Pangea and the formation of three great ocean basins
Mass extinction
Cambrian era first mass extinction
Pangea
supercontinent
Panthalassa
the sea around Pangea
Tethys Sea
At beginning, not many genera, middle reef development proliferated in present-day Europe and Mediterranean, but late Jurassic probably maximum of coral diversity with 150 recorded in Tethys and 51 in Panthalassa.
Greatest proliferation of corals
In the Cretaceous destined for the extinction
Circus-global circulation
Currents moved them around the world
Glacio-eustatic
Worldwide changes in sea level – primarily due to the withdrawal and release of water by the growth and decay of polar ice caps and tectonic movements
Biogenic reef
Reef that is created by living organisms
Binders
things that actually settle on sediment and bind it - algae and bacteria
Coral reef
limestone structure caused by calcium carbonate deposition of scleractinian corals
Bafflers
things that create an area of slower moving water so sediments settle out (eel grass; coral reefs)
Bioherm
limestone buildup caused by biological activity
Foramol
made up of forminiferans and mollusks; also coralline red algae, sea urchin spine, bryozoans
Chloroalgal
remains of the calcareous green algae Halimeda
Chlorozoans
coral remains and calcareous algae
Bioeroders
contribute to rubble: bacteria, fungi, sponges, worms, clams, urchins, some fish
Reef formation
- Series of constructive and destructive stages; destructive events can occur before death of a living colony
- Surface is attacked by boring sponges and bivalves
- Living coral can be attacked from below
- Places abandoned by borers can be colonized by bryozoans and encrusting algae
Reef growth
Rates of growth for reef-producing organisms far exceed the rate of growth of the reef itself, very slow
Bioerosion
Bioerosion by a group of animals can range from 20 kg/year for urchins to 1000 kg/year for parrotfish.
Fringing reef
surrounds islands and borders continents
Barrier reef
separated from land by a lagoon
Lagoon
a body of water separated from larger bodies of water by a natural barrier.
Table reef
small open ocean reef with no central island or lagoon
Cnidaria
phylum, class anthozoa
Coelenterata
is now known as cnidarians
Gastrovascular cavity
they have one body cavity with a single opening, hydra
Planula
free swimming larvae
Coelenteron
central body cavity
Sensory and nerve cells
oriented at a right angle to epidermal surface, base of each cell gives rise to neuron process and distal end terminates in a sphere or sensory bulb – these are particularly abundant on tentacles
Excretion by diffusion
At the cellular level by
diffusion
Extracellular digestion/phagocytosis
Extracellulary by the
release of proteolytic
enzymes and then
intercellularly by
phagocytosis and
vacuoles
Patch reef
irregular reefs that arise from lagoons behind barrier reefs or within atolls
Fore reef
the outside part of a reef seaward of the reef crest (or reef edge) facing open sea.
Back reef
the shallow lagoon between the shore and coral reef
Reef flat
Shallow, between shore and reef crest, can have harsher conditions
Reef crest
more active reef growth, high energy species
Reef front
found at the furthest distance from shore
Zooxanthellae
Corals are limited to the photic zone due to photosynthetic zooxanthellae
Linnaeus
But scientific taxonomy and binomial nomenclature began with a Swedish botanist by the name of Linnaeus.
Scala Natureae
first scale/form of taxonomy
Stromatolites
The first reefs 3.5 billion years ago. They are widely distributed sedimentary structures consisting of laminated carbonate or silicate rocks, produced over geologic time by the trapping, binding, or precipitating of sediment by groups of microorganisms, primarily cyanobacteria.
Low turbidity
Since they depend on light, corals are also limited to water with low turbidity and low productivity. eastern slopes and shallow waters.
Photic zone
area that receives sunlight
Hermatypic
reef-building corals
Marine desert
The waters are oxygen-rich but oligotrophic (devoid of nutrients)
Oligotrophic
devoid of nutrients
30N and 30S
Areas of year-round sunlight
Tentacles
obtain nutrients and food
Oral
mouth
Levels of Classification
- Domain
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
Phylogenetic tree
Over time this came to include phylogenetic trees which shows relationships over evolutionary time
Cladistics and cladograms
show last common ancestor
Longitudinal differences
- In equatorial regions, sunlight is more direct, water is warmer, and daylight is distributed more evenly throughout seasons.
- Coriolis effect – as warmed air rises, it is replaced by cooler air from the north and south. Since the world spins east to west, the replacement air (or trade winds) moves westwardly. As the trades hit the continents, the spin-off northerly in the northern hemisphere and southernly in the southern hemisphere.
Immense diversity
Coral reefs have immense diversity,
- Uncountable but estimates put between 1 and over 3 million species
- Only 10% described
- Home to 1 out of every four marine species
Origin of zonation
size of the granules,
- Different coral species require different size substrate
- Algae may colonize a particular granule size and becoming a grazing area for herbivores
- Holothurians and echinoids may filter different areas
Nematocysts
cnidocytes – interspersed in epidermis, unique and characteristic to cnidarians, contain everting organelles called cnidae which include the nematocysts or stinging structures
Colonial
class
Coriolis Effect
as warmed air rises, it is replaced by cooler air from the north and south. Since the world spins east to west, the replacement air (or trade winds) moves westwardly. As the trades hit the continents, the spin-off northerly in the northern hemisphere and southernly in the southern hemisphere.
Atolls
rests on summits of submerged volcanoes
Spur and groove
fingerlike projections of the reef pointed toward the surge to channel energy in a non-destructive way
Reef slope
high energy, decreasing light, high competition, greatest diversity in intermediate depth
Epidermis/endodermis
outer layer
Gastrodermis/endodermis
lining of the gastrovascular cavity
Mesoglea
could be connective tissue-like
Cnidocytes
stinging cells
Oral and aboral
mouth and anus
Polyp
o typically a tube or cylinder with oral end directed upward
tentacles
aboral surface
oral structure
Medusa
o free swimming medusa usually a bell or umbrella shape with convex side up and concave side down with tentacles hanging down
Epitheliomuscular cells
columnar in shape with base resting on mesoglea – contains a contractile fiber
Interstitial cells
beneath the epidermal surface and wedged in between epitheliomuscular cells – act as germinal cells and give rise to sperm and eggs as well as any other type of cell
Mucus-secreting cells
found in epidermis and also contain contractile extensions like epitheliomuscular cells
Enzymatic cells
gland cells – often flagellated
Nerve net
diffuse mesh of nerve cells that take part in simple reflex pathways, nerve cells interact with sensory and contractile cells
Hydrostatic skeleton
corals have
