Types of Reefs
True or False there are 5 types of reefs?
What is True
True or False you would expect to see small branching corals at a reef front?
What is false
What is the biggest biotic limiting factor on reefs.
What is space?
Give on example of any of the animal interactions we learned about.
predator interaction (sharks & fish, corals & butterfly fish/crown of thorns/parrot fish, jack & silverside, worm & shrimp) competition interactions (Blue/Convict tang, Corals/Corals, Grouper/Lion Fish), positive interactions (Crabs & Corals, Shrimp & Sponge, Clown fish & anemone) food availability (Minke Whales, Tangs, sharks), reproduction (Cuttle Fish - Change colors, Pipe Fish - mating dance, Whales - Sing)
After a coral is a larvae what does it develop to?
What is a polyp.
What type of reef forms around a small sinking island/land mass but is separated from the land by water/a lagoon?
What is an Atoll Reef?
Fill in the blank for what would fit next in the order of reef structures; reef edge, reef front, reef crest, ________, reef flat, and beach.
What is algal ridge.
Give at least two examples of threats to reefs that we have learned about.
What is ocean acidification, warmer water temperature, crown of thorns sea stars, and larger/harsher weather systems.
What are two things corals directly provide to animals in the coral reef ecosystems?
What are Food and shelter/homes
Give two environmental/abiotic factors influence coral reproduction?
What is; water temperature, tides, and lunar cycles.
Give an example of a reef we have studied that is large and has water that separates it from a large land mass, and what type of reef is it?
What is The Great Barrier Reef, and a Barrier Reef
What are the characteristics of a reef crest?
What is an area with high wave action, near the surface of the water, typically with compact corals that are sturdy and erosion-resistant.
Give two abiotic environmental factors that humans have changed in the ocean which impact reef ecosystems
What is; ocean temperature and ocean acidity (pH)
What are two examples of competition interactions on the reef?
What is; Blue/Convict tang, Corals/Corals, and Grouper/Lion Fish
When corals bleach what are they loosing?
What is the photosynthetic algae that lives inside them (zooxanthellae)
Describe the characteristics of a fringing reef.
What is a reef that forms right along or at the coastline of a large land mass.
Where is an area with corals intermixed with sandy channels?
What is spur and grooves, known as the buttress zone, found between the reef edge and front.
Give two examples of animals that directly eat/rely on corals as a food source.
What is, butterfly fish, parrot fish, and crown of thorns sea star.
What are three examples of predator interactions on the reef?
What is; sharks & fish, corals & butterfly fish/crown of thorns/parrot fish, jack & silverside, worm & shrimp.
When do corals grow?
What is at night
What two types of reefs are typically small and found between a land mass and another reef?
What are Patch and Bank Reefs
What is the area of the reef called where if it is very steep it can also be known as a drop-off?
What is reef front.
What are two of the four natural abiotic factors that impact corals?
What is sunlight, temperature, salinity and wave shock?
Give 3 of the 5 biotic factors that impact organisms and provide examples that highlight them for reefs
What is; predator interaction (sharks & fish, corals & butterfly fish/crown of thorns/parrot fish, jack & silverside, worm & shrimp) competition interactions (Blue/Convict tang, Corals/Corals, Grouper/Lion Fish), positive interactions (Crabs & Corals, Shrimp & Sponge, Clown fish & anemone) food availability (Minke Whales, Tangs, sharks), reproduction (Cuttle Fish - Change colors, Pipe Fish - mating dance, Whales - Sing)
Describe the life cycle and parts of a coral.
When the proper water temperature, tides, and lunar cycles happen sperm and eggs are released which when fertilized create larvae, that settles then develops into a polyp, which will bud into other polyps, that then create a limestone casing, that will host algae inside of them, as they grow and develop leaving behind the limestone base.