Geography and Climate
Coral Life Cycle
Coral Adaptations
Coral Skeletons
Humans and Corals
100
What part of the world are coral reefs found in?
Around the equator
100
Are corals plants, animals, or rocks?
Animals
100
What is a coral's best friend called?
Zooxanthellae!
100
What happens to coral when the ocean becomes more acidic?
They get weak and break apart
100
How do corals protect our shorelines?
They make a wall that waves have to crash into before reaching the shore, making the wave smaller
200
Why do corals like to live where they do?
Shallow, warm water and sunshine all year long
200
How often does broadcast spawning happen?
One night a year, under very special conditions
200
Where does most of a coral's diet come from?
Zooxanthellae turning sunlight into food for them
200
What are some other things made of the same stuff as coral skeletons?
Chalk, shells, some sand
200
What are 2 ways corals are important for humans?
Protect our shorelines, provide food, source of new medicines, recreation
300
In the last 2 stages of reef formation, what is the body of water between a reef and an island called?
Lagoon
300
What is broadcast spawning?
Corals shoot out little parts of themselves that float up to the surface, find each other, grow, find a place to stick onto the reef, and grow more
300
What food can corals catch on their own?
Zooplankton
300
Who helps corals take stuff out of the water to build their skeletons?
Zooxanthellae
300
What is happening to the corals as the sea water is getting warmer?
They get uncomfortable, expel their zooxanthellae, “bleach”, and don’t get enough to eat
400
What is happening to the island and the reef during the 3 stages of reef formation?
Island is sinking, coral reef continues to grow
400
What is budding?
An individual polyp pops off, sticks to the reef, and grows
400
What is symbiosis?
When two living things in nature help each other out
400
What are coral skeletons made out of?
Calcium carbonate
400
What are humans adding to the water that makes it more acidic?
Carbon dioxide
500
What are the 3 stages of reef formation?
Fringing, barrier, atoll
500
What are the 3 B's of coral reproduction?
Brooding, Budding, and Broadcast Spawning
500
What are the stinging cells corals use to catch their food called?
Nematocysts
500
What is a hypothesis?
A guess you can test!
500
What is ocean acidification?
When seawater becomes more and more acidic (pH decreases) because of human actions