Coral Reefs Flashcards
Hermatypic and ahermatypic coral reefs
’Hermatypic more sensitive to temp and hard
Ahermatypic are soft
What is the coral reefs structure
Reefs form of polyps that have symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae this plant does photosynthesis which waste product is oxygen beneficial to the coral. Coral release coz beneficial for zooxanthellae
Reef building corals
Branching . Grow in linear dimensions fairly rapidly . Storms may break apart which can grow into new colonies
Massive . Mound shaped and irregular produce lots of calcium carbonate but grow in slower
Reproduction of corals
Asexual , budding and fragmentation
Sexual , will release eggs and sperm into water Callum at once
Brooding, females eggs are fertilised inside the coral they will them grow as polyps collecting zooxanthelle from the parents and are then release however has a large energetic cost for the parent
What are the types of coral reefs
Fringing
Barrier
Atol
Two groups of organisms responsible for carbon fixation
Coral and algae
How to monitor coral reefs
Airborne light detector
Remote sensing
Underwater video mapping
Acoustic seabed mapping
Natural threats to coral reefs
Competiton
Grazing
Predation
Disease
Storms
Cyclones
Anthropogenic threats to coral reefs
Pollution
Coastal development and damage
Fishing
Climate change
How is competition predation and grazing present in coral reefs
Competiton for space
Predation of corals eg crown of thorns starfish
How is overfishing and destructive fishing bad for coral reefs
Fishing gear can impact corals
Why is climate change an issue for coral reefs
Bleaching from thermal stress of warming oceans causing corals to loose their zooxanthelle
Ocean acidification therefor corals can fix calcium carbonate to form their structures
Rising sea levels now effect light penetration and temp
