1 / 27

Coral Reef for Website

Coral Reef for Website. Coral Reefs. Organisms that build the Reef:. Reef corals:. CaCo 3 (limestone). Cnidarians. hard VS. soft coral (not reef builders). Life cycle = planula larva ---- metamorphosis ---- adult polyp. Nutrition (get/ capture food): five methods.

wolfe
Download Presentation

Coral Reef for Website

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. Coral Reef for Website

  2. Coral Reefs

  3. Organisms that build the Reef: Reef corals: • CaCo3 (limestone)

  4. Cnidarians

  5. hard VS. soft coral (not reef builders)

  6. Life cycle = planula larva ---- metamorphosis ---- adult polyp

  7. Nutrition (get/ capture food): five methods 1.Photosynthetic zooxanthellae - dinoflagellates (need light)

  8. Gives coral color • Hermatypic = coral with zooxanthellae

  9. 2. Prey on zooplankton with tentacles. 3. Catch zooplankton with sheets of mucus.

  10. 4. Mesenterial filaments- coiled filaments (secret digestive enzymes) are pushed out through mouth or body and absorb the food outside body from sediments. 5. Absorb dissolved organic matter DOM, directly from water (unique for animals).

  11. Coral Reproduction: Budding off pieces (asexual) - colony

  12. Coral Colony

  13. 2. Sexual * Some hermaphrodites *Some separate sexes broadcast spawners * Prodigal reproductive strategy

  14. Other Reef Builders: • Oysters • Polychete worms • Shells of snails, clams, other mollusks, sea urchins, crustaceans, sponge.

  15. Coralline algae • Produce “skeleton” of CaCO3. • Form “algal ridge”- block waves and prevents erosion. • Cements sediments in place “glue”.

  16. Conditions for Growth: • Clear water ---- light (zooxanthella and Coralline algae) • Shallow water • Warm water

  17. If stressed = bleaching - coral expels zooxanthellae

  18. Sediments - fine sediments are harmful because it smothers coral and blocks light. • Expelling mucus carries sediment away.

  19. Salinity - coral sensitive to it. • Pollution - more sediment/ introduced freshwater, pesticides, industrial wastes (farmland runoff), high concentration of nutrients (sewage) --- eutrophication - causes agal bloom.

  20. Kind of Reefs: • 1. Fringing Reefs: • Simplest kind • Grow in narrow band/ fringe along shore • Most vulnerable to pollution runoff

  21. 2. Barrier Reef: • Farther from shore (up to 60 miles) • Separated from shore by lagoon

More Related