Coral evolution and anatomy
Polyps
Coral bleaching
Deep sea mining +coral reefs
100
Corals emerged during the...
Cambrian period, over 500 million years ago
100
A coral polyp is...
A tiny, sea anemone-like organism reasonable for providing additional nutrition to the coral.
100
In short, coral bleaching occurs due to...
...high stress
100
Due to shortages in necessary materials, several countries have opted for deep-sea mining, a process which involves...
...scarping the ocean floor, creating sediment plumes.
200
The typically "coral growing season"...
... is during winter and fall, when the ocean is usually cooler in temperature.
200
Coral's color comes from...
zooxanthellae in the polyps
200
Coral bleaching is often mistaken for...
...white plague, a bacteria disease which promotes tissue decay.
200
Deep-sea mining sediment can also cause...
...severe escalation in coral tissue loss
300
The oldest and most prominent "base-layer" coral is...
...stony coral
300
How does coral grow?
Asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction, and secreting calcium carbonate,
300
If a coral dies from coral bleaching a consequences is...
...decreased biodiversity
300
Plans for deep sea mining are mainly condensed....
Corals of the World. (2015). Coralsoftheworld.org. https://www.coralsoftheworld.org/page/distributions/
...in the western pacific, where a vast majority of the world's coral reefs lay.
Miller, K. A., Thompson, K. F., Johnston, P., & Santillo, D. (2018). An Overview of Seabed Mining Including the Current State of Development, Environmental Impacts, and Knowledge Gaps. Frontiers in Marine Science, 4(418). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00418
400
Modern versions of corals appeared...
...roughly twenty-five million years ago
400
an automatic stress response and reproductive strategy...
What is, "bailing out?"
400
Starting in 2023, the largest coral bleaching event has affected over...
...83.7% of all reefs
400
deep sea nodules (little chunks of rare metals) take millions of years to grow. The size of these can be up to...
20 cm, which take a 15-20 million years to form.
500
(Sometimes) corals gain nutrients by...
...acting as a filter, filtering out particular matter to absorb dissolved nutrients directly from the water.
500
polyps hunt (mainly at night) using...
...extending their spiny little tentacles, which captures, paralyses and/or kills prey.
500
Factors that heighten the chance of coral bleaching include...
...polluted water, extreme temperature spikes, human interference, animal interference, turbility, and storm water run-off
500
The mass mining of nodules will effect...
...biodiversity ocean-wide, with masses of different chemicals and sentiments being released from the ocean.