1 / 24

Colorful Corals

Colorful Corals. Read the passage, and think of the following questions: 1.What is coral made up of ? 2.How does coral fulfill their appetite( 填饱肚子 )? 3.How does coral multiply themselves( 繁衍后代 )? 4.What’s the relationship between coral and sunshine?.

dalia
Download Presentation

Colorful Corals

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Colorful Corals Read the passage, and think of the following questions:1.What is coral made up of ? 2.How does coral fulfill their appetite(填饱肚子)? 3.How does coral multiply themselves(繁衍后代)? 4.What’s the relationship between coral and sunshine?

  2. Coral Bleaching(珊瑚的死亡) 101 Presented by Mark Eakin Coordinator, NOAA Coral Reef Watch

  3. What is a coral? • A “coral” is actually a “coral colony”(珊瑚虫聚集地)

  4. What is a coral? Surface is covered by thousands of tiny coral animals, called “polyps” Polyps are filled with microscopic algae(微小的海藻)

  5. Anatomy of a coral polyp Each polyp looks like a tiny sea anemone (海葵) Ring of stinging tentacles(触角) around a central mouth Rests in a “cup” on the surface of the colony

  6. What do corals eat? Like a sea anemone(海葵), the polyp can capture small prey(食物) (mostly zooplankton[浮游生物]) with its tentacles

  7. What do corals eat? • Also get nutrition from a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae(虫黄藻)….

  8. What are zooxanthellae? Shrimp(小虾) Algae Fish

  9. What are zooxanthellae? Algae that live in the coral polyp’s surface layer Algae get nutrients and a safe place to grow Corals get oxygen and help with waste removal Corals also get most of their food from the algae Photo: Michael ten Lohuis

  10. What is coral bleaching? Healthy coral Bleached (死亡的)coral Coral bleaching is caused by stress Poll question: what might be stressful for a coral? We’ll get back to the answer later….

  11. What turns the coral white? Healthy coral with algae Bleached coral with no algae - As a stress response, corals expel(驱逐) the symbiotic zooxanthellae from their tissues - The coral tissue is clear, so you see the white limestone skeleton underneath

  12. What can stress a coral? High light or UV levels Cold temperatures Low salinity and high turbidity from coastal runoff events or heavy rain Exposure to air during very low tides Major: high water temperatures Photos: AIMS and GBRMPA

  13. Thermal stress Corals live close to their thermal maximum limit If water gets 1 or 2°C higher than the summer average, corals get stressed and bleach NOAA satellites measure global ocean temperature and thermal stress

  14. How warm is warm? How hot do you think the ocean has to get before corals start to bleach?

  15. Does bleaching kill corals? Yes, if the stress is severe Some of the polyps in a colony might die If the bleaching is really severe, whole colonies might die Bleaching in Puerto Rico killed an 800-year-old star coral colony in 2005

  16. What else can stress do to corals? Photo: Caroline Rogers, USGS Question: what is something that happens to people when they are highly stressed? Gain weight Get sick Turn orange

  17. What else can stress do to corals? Photo: Caroline Rogers, USGS Question: what is something that happens to people when they are highly stressed? Answer: more likely to get sick

  18. Bleaching and coral disease Coral diseases are found around the world High temperatures and bleaching can leave corals more vulnerable to disease Can quickly kill part or all of the coral colony Marilyn E. Brandt, University of Miami

  19. Can corals recover? Corals may eventually regain color by repopulating their zooxanthellae Algae may come from the water column Or they may come from reproduction of the few cells that remain in the coral Jeff Miller, National Park Service

  20. Can corals recover? Yes, if the stress doesn’t last too long Some corals can eat more zooplankton to help survive the lack of zooxanthellae Some species are more resistant to bleaching, and more able to recover Photos: AIMS and GBRMPA

  21. Can corals recover? Corals can begin to recover after a few weeks Jeff Miller, National Park Service

  22. Can we protect corals from bleaching? Shade reefs Cool reefs Improve water quality Reduce other stress Reduce overfishing

  23. What Can YOU Do? • 1. Learn more about coral reefs. • 2. Spread the word. • http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/ 25list.html • http://www.projectaware.org/americas/english/10TYCD.asp

  24. Bleaching 101: summary Corals are mineral, animal, AND vegetable Hot water bleaches corals Corals may die after bleaching Diseases follow many warming/bleaching stress events

More Related