Coral Reefs and Coastlines
Coral reefs provide this to over 200 million people
What is protection?
Coral reefs supply this resource to communities on the coastline
What is food?
Ocean currents transport this to new reef sites
What is offspring?
As oceans absorb more CO2, the pH level decreases, making the ocean this
What is more acidic?
Less oxygen in the ocean does this to coral reefs
What is suffocate / kill?
Coral reefs protect the land from these
What are natural disasters?
These tools used by humans sometimes break corals and block sunlight
What are traps?
When the ocean current is weaker, this stays on the surface
What is warmer water
Another name for this is zooxanthellae and it lives inside the coral, giving coral its color.
What is microscopic algae?
An increase in nitrogen from the runoff fertilizers from farms and lawns and the toxins from the sewage from industries and communities lead to this
What is a large growth of algae?
The percent of wave energy taken in by coral reefs
What is 97%?
Larger fish produce this
What is more offspring?
When the current is stronger, it carries this to the surface
What is colder water?
Algae living in coral is this kind of relationship
What is oxygen?
Absorbs the force of the water as it passes through.
What is a buffer?
Fish exert this element through their gills
What is nitrogen?
This determines how efficiently corals can capture their food and rid themselves of metabolic waste
What is an ocean current/water flow?
When the ocean temperatures get this, algae leaves the coral
What is warm?
This causes coral to expel their microscopic algae
What is a pollutant?
The force created by water
What is wave energy?
Fish urine contains this element
What is phosphorous?
Coral does this when the water gets too warm and the coral loses its color
What is bleaching?
When corals can't do this, it makes them more prone to weather damage and disease
What is rebuilding their skeletons?
Water with sediment from deforestation and construction settles on coral, depriving them of this
What is light?