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 (96 cards)
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