Ecology

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Ecology

• Biomes Coral Reef

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Aquatic Salt-water Biomes
Temperature
Warm
Cold
Mangrove Salt Marsh
Coral Reef Kelp Forest (submerged)/Rocky Intertidal (shoreline)
Low
Energy
High
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Where do we find coral reefs?
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Coral Reef General Characteristics

• High Energy (lots of wave action)
• Warm water
• High light environment
• Very sensitive to changes in light, heat, and
  water chemistry
• V. high diversity (underwater rainforest)

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Types of Reefs Fringing coral reef

• Found along the edges of islands
• Form around young volcanic islands

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Types of Coral Reef Barrier Reef

• Found on the outer edges of older (middle-aged)
  islands or continents
• Biggest in the world
• Great Barrier Reef Australia
• Belize

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Types of Coral Reefs Atolls

• Older subsided islands
• Many in the S. Pacific
• Usually associated with a back lagoon

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How do reefs form?

• Coral produces calcium carbonate skeleton
• This produces reef over many years

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High productivity high diversity

• Primary productivity as high as rainforest
• High diversity promotes many interactions
• Lots of color!

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Reminders

• Students for Environmental Awareness will hold a
  Lake Jovita cleanup this Saturday, September 19th
  at 9 a.m.meet at the dock.
• Your reading/writing assignment is due today!
• I have to re-arrange schedule for First Test
  originally schedule for Friday, September 25th,
  alternate dates
• Monday, September 28th?

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Why so much color?
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Two ways to answer that question

1. Zooxanthellae algae
2. To find each other

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Zooxanthellae are symbionts with coral organism

• Coral provides housing
• Nutrients for photosynthesis
• Zooxanthellae provide coral with photosynthate,
  oxygen, and remove wastes

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Threats to coral reefs

• Overfishing
• Garbage
• Diseases such as black- and yellow-band
• Associated with poor water quality

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Global warming

• Warming of sea surface temps can lead to coral
  bleaching
• Bleaching occurs when zooxanthellae leave the
  symbiosis
• This causes the coral to lose its color

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Bleaching

• The loss of the zooxanthellae causes coral to die
  off
• Very massive global events
• Some areas have lost 30-50 of corals to bleaching