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The Effect of Light on Coral Morphology in the Caribbean

Explore how the morphology of the Montastrea cavernosa coral in the Caribbean changes in response to different light conditions. Analyze photographs taken at various depths to answer important research questions.

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The Effect of Light on Coral Morphology in the Caribbean

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  1. WALLACE RESOURCE LIBRARY Module 01 - Ecosystems: Coral Reefs D01 – The Effect of light on coral morphology in the Caribbean

  2. What is a coral reef? “Mound/ridge of living coral, coral skeletons and calcium deposits from other sea organisms that resides in the ocean” • Many different plants and animals contribute to the reef’s construction • The most important are corals, which is why they are known as ecosystem architects

  3. What is a coral reef? • Certain species of coral produce a calcium carbonate skeleton • Successive generations of these corals lay down their skeleton on those of previous generations • A coral reef is a result of thousands of years of coral skeletons • Note: Most corals grow only a few cm per year!

  4. Calcareous “cup” - the corallite Heterotrophy AND Autotrophy

  5. Coral distribution There are three main centres of coral diversity, (1) the Caribbean, (2) the Indo-Pacific and (3) the Western Indian Ocean

  6. Factors influencing coral reef distribution Light Intensity Required for photosynthesis of algae living symbiotically within corals. This limits corals to shallower waters (<60m) Temperature Requires temperatures above 19C, elevated temperatures (>30C) can cause bleaching Abiotic Factors Salinity Corals cannot tolerate low salinities (e.g. from rivers), but they can tolerate high salinity Emersion No coral species can withstand regular or prolonged time out of the water Sedimentation High sedimentation reduces light levels, and smother corals

  7. Tasks for this data set • You are going to investigate the effect of light on the coral morphology (form/structure) of the coral Montastrea cavernosa • You will do this by analysing photographs of the coral taken at different depths. • This data will be used to construct graphs so that you can attempt to answer TWO important research questions.

  8. Research questions 1. How does the common Caribbean coral Montastrea cavernosa modify its morphology in response to different light conditions? 2. Can we use corallite density data to predict a maximum depth at which Montastrea cavernosa would be expected to be found on this coral reef?

  9. Summary Conclusions The data will suggest that the morphology of the coral polyps change at depth and as light is the major changing factor between different depths that the morphological changes are in response to changing light conditions. The relationship between depth and corallite density suggests that eventually the corallite density will be zero. This could be used to predict the maximum depth distribution on the reefs sampled in this part (CayosCochinos) of the Caribbean.

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