Lecture 4

Question 1

Where is “The biodiversity triangle” located?

Answer 1

Pacific ocean, south-east of Japan, China and North of Australia

Question 2

What region of the World has the greatest species diversity?

Answer 2

Indopacific (Palau)

Question 3

What region of the World has one of the smallest species diversity?

Answer 3

Gulf of Maine (mostly deep water corals)

Question 4

What is the average temperature where most coral reefs are found?

Answer 4

Min. 20 degrees celsius average temps

Question 5

What is the name of the zone where corals are limited to?

Answer 5

Photic zone

Question 6

Why are corals restricted to the “Photic zone”?

Answer 6

Due to photosynthetic zooxanthellae

Question 7

Photosynthetic zooxanthellae

Answer 7

Corals are restricted to shallow water (10-60m)

Question 8

Hermatypic corals

Answer 8

1) Reef-building
2) Build a reef by depositing hard calcareous material for their skeletons

Question 9

Coral abundance and diversity tracks _____ ______.

Answer 9

solar radiation

Question 10

Corals are limited to water of ___ _____ and ___ _____ due to being dependent on light.

Answer 10

Low turbidity; low productivity

Question 11

Zooxanthellate corals

Answer 11

1) Have zooxanthellate
2) Dominate areas of low nutrient input (ex: oceanic atolls)

Question 12

Algal mat

Answer 12

1) Important food source for herbivores
2) Herbivores come in to corals to eat the algal mats, helping out the corals

Question 13

What areas will favor algae due to quicker pulses of nutrients?

Answer 13

1) Intermediate areas of nutrient input
2) Along Eastern coasts and lagoons of oceanic high islands

Question 14

Coriolis Effect

Answer 14

1) The deflection of an object’s path due to Earth’s rotation
2) As warm air rises, it is replaced with cooler air from north and south (creating a vacuum), leading to winds moving westwardly

Question 15

What is topography determined by?

Answer 15

the Coriolis Effect

Question 16

Do Western or Eastern coasts have deeper ledges?

Answer 16

Western

Question 17

Do Western or Eastern coasts have higher nutrient loads?

Answer 17

Western

Question 18

Because Eastern shores have more gradual slopes than Western, what impact do rivers have?

Answer 18

More sediment deposited into coastal areas

Question 19

Continental Shelf

Answer 19

1) Towards the water line
2) Above continental slope

Question 20

Continental Slope

Answer 20

1) Below the continental shelf
2) Closer to the ocean floor

Question 21

West Coast Continental shelf/slope characteristics (3)

Answer 21

1) Narrow shelf
2) Steep slope
3) Inward prevailing winds

Question 22

East coast continental shelf/slope characteristics (3)

Answer 22

1) Broader shelf
2) Gradual slope
3) Outward prevailing winds

Question 23

Where are nutrients supplied from on western coasts?

Answer 23

Upwellings

Question 24

Where are nutrients supplied from on eastern coasts?

Answer 24

Terrestrial runoff

Question 25

What longitudinal differences occur in equatorial regions?

Answer 25

1) More direct sunlight
2) Warmer water
3) More evenly distributed daylight throughout the seasons

Question 26

Where are the areas of year-round sunlight?

Answer 26

Between 30N and 30S

Question 27

What characteristics do the locations in 30N and 30S have?

Answer 27

1) Low turbidity areas (eastern slopes and shallow water)
2) Areas with water temps between 70-84 F

Question 28

T/F: Reefs are only present between 30N and 30S?

Answer 28

F

Question 29

At what temperature does calcification slow down?

Answer 29

68 F

Question 30

At what temperatures can bleaching occur?

Answer 30

86-92 F

Question 31

T/F: Bleaching does not mean coral death

Answer 31

T (but bleaching can lead to death)

Question 32

When will death occur in coral reefs?

Answer 32

When they experience prolonged exposure 3-6 degrees outside their target temperature range

Question 33

Darwin’s Theory on Subsidence

Answer 33

Fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls represent successive stages in an evolutionary sequence

Question 34

Darwin Point

Answer 34

The point at which the level of coral growth is less than the sinking and erosion rates (around Kure Atoll in Pacific Ocean)

Question 35

Reginald Daly’s Theory

Answer 35

1) An ice age prevented new growth of corals
2) Sea levels lowered because a lot more water was frozen in glaciers
3) Exposed corals died
4) More corals grew once water levels rose again

Question 36

3 major types of reef formation

Answer 36

1) Fringing
2) Barrier
3) Atoll

Question 37

Glacio-eustatic

Answer 37

A change in sea level due to uptake or release of water from glaciers/polar ice

Question 38

Fringing reef

Answer 38

1) Grow near the coastline
2) Darwin: the first kind of reef to form (evolves into barrier, atoll)

Question 39

Barrier reef

Answer 39

1) Reef away from shore, separated by a lagoon
2) Darwin: the 2nd kind of reef, evolves from a fringing reef

Question 40

Atoll reef

Answer 40

1) Ring-shaped, around, inactive underwater volcano (lagoon)
2) Dawrin: final reef to form

Question 41

What type of ion plays a large role in coral formation?

Answer 41

Carbonate ions

Question 42

Why are carbonate ions important?

Answer 42

They play an important role in their concentration scale in relation to water temperature (More carbonate = warmer waters = where reefs are more likely to be)