Coral Reef Zoology and Importance- CLASS SET- PLEASE RETURN!!!!

Background:

Coral reefs are one of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth. Most people have seen images of brightly
colored fishes and other reef-dwelling organisms, yet many do not understand why these systems are important.

Zoology:

The ancient Greeks mistakenly believed that corals were plants. Corals are actually animals, related to anemones and
jellyfish. Corals consist of a limestone (calcium carbonate) structure filled with thousands of small animals called polyps.
Each polyp has a skeleton cup, tentacles with stinging cells, a mouth and a gastrovascular cavity. The tiny tentacles
snatch at passing plankton for food.

Reef-building corals have devised a much more ingenious method to get fed. Algae called zooxanthellae live within each
coral. In return for a safe sunny home, the zooxanthellae eat the nitrogen waste that the coral produces (nitrogen is very
good for algal growth) and, like all plants, algae turn sunlight into sugars by the process of photosynthesis. The sugars
produced by the zooxanthellae make up 98 per cent of the coral's food. So, without having to do any work at all, the
coral is kept clean and well fed, and the zooxanthellae with their brilliant reds, oranges and browns give corals their
color. Every coral species, as well as numerous other reef inhabitants, maintains a special symbiotic relationship with a
microscopic organism (algae) called zooxanthellae. These organisms provide their hosts with oxygen and a portion of the
organic compounds they produce through photosynthesis. When stressed, many reef inhabitants have been observed to
release their zooxanthellae at the same time. The polyps of the coral are left without pigmentation and appear nearly
transparent on the animal's white skeleton. This phenomenon is normally referred to as coral “bleaching”. The
zooxanthellae work like an internal symbiotic vegetable garden; carrying out photosynthesis and providing nutrients that
help reef-building corals create reef structures

Benefits:

Programs and articles about coral reefs typically point out benefits that include protecting shorelines from erosion and
storm damage, supplying foods that are important to many coastal communities, and providing recreational and
economic opportunities. The study of coral reefs can also provide a history of past climates.

The Great Barrier Reef is especially important to the Australian economy and generates 1.5 billion dollars every year
from fishing and tourism. These benefits are obviously important to people who live near reefs, but there is another
aspect of that can benefit everyone: the highly diverse biological communities are new sources of powerful antibiotic,
anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs. The idea of coral reefs as a source of important new drugs is new to many
people; but in fact, most drugs in use today come from nature. Aspirin, for example, was first isolated from the willow
tree. Morphine is extracted from the opium poppy. Penicillin was discovered from common bread mold. Although
almost all of the drugs derived from natural sources come from terrestrial organisms, recent systematic searches for
new drugs have shown that marine invertebrates produce more antibiotic, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory
substances than any group of terrestrial organisms. Particularly promising invertebrate groups include sponges,
tunicates, bryozoans, corals, and some mollusks, annelids, and echinoderms. Conotoxins from cone snails have recently
been found as affective painkillers in rats. They are predicted to be 100x more effective than morphine, and would not
affect the same areas of the brain that opiates do to cause addiction.

Reefs provide habitats and shelter for many organisms and are the source of nitrogen and other essential nutrients in
the food chain. This is why hundreds or thousands of marine species live in coral reefs. Many fisheries depend on the
fish that spend the first part of their life in coral reefs, before making their way to open ocean.

Threats:

Despite their numerous benefits to humans, many coral reefs are threatened by human activities. Sewage and chemical
pollution can cause overgrowth of algae, oxygen depletion, and poisoning. Fishing with heavy trawls and explosives
damages the physical structure of reefs as well as the coral animals that build them. Careless tourists and boat anchors
also cause mechanical damage. Thermal pollution from power plants and global warming cause physiological stress that
kills coral animals and leaves the reef structure vulnerable to erosion. Many of these impacts are the result of ignorance;
people simply aren’t aware of the importance of coral reefs or the consequences of their actions, but the damage and
threats to reefs continues to increase on a global scale.

Some of the most severe damage appears to be caused by thermal stress. Shallow-water reef-building corals live
primarily in tropical latitudes (less than 30° north or south of the equator). These corals live near the upper limit of their
thermal tolerance. Abnormally high temperatures result in thermal stress, and many corals respond by expelling the
symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that live in the corals’ tissues. Since the zooxanthellae are responsible for most of the
corals’ color; corals that have expelled their algal symbionts appear to be bleached. Because zooxanthellae provide a
significant portion of the corals’ food (90%) and are involved with growth processes, expelling these symbionts can have
significant impacts on the corals’ health. The coral starves and –unless- the temperature quickly returns to normal- dies.
In some cases, corals are able to survive a “bleaching” event and eventually recover. When the level of environmental
stress is high and sustained, however, the corals may die. Prior to the 1980s, coral bleaching events were isolated and
appeared to be the result of short-term events such as major storms, severe tidal exposures, sedimentation, pollution,
or thermal shock. Over the past twenty years, though, these events have become more widespread, and many
laboratory studies have shown a direct relationship between bleaching and water temperature stress. In general, coral
bleaching occurs where water temperature increases by 1° C.

Can corals survive bleaching?:

In the past, rapid changes of climate have sometimes led to extinctions. The dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years
ago, and there have been several mass extinctions before and since. Does the coral have any hope? If a channel of cold
water constantly runs through the warm water, thus keeping the zooxanthellae cool, then those corals can survive.
Another way in which corals can survive is just by being tougher than others, in the same way that some people are
always healthy while other people are always sick.
Impact:

In Australia, the Great Barrier Reef suffered the worst bleaching event in recorded history in 2016 and then again in
2017. It was estimated that about half of its coral was killed between the two events.

In the Indian Ocean, reefs were badly hit. One survey in the Maldives found all reefs there were affected, with between
60 to 90% of coral colonies bleached. Christmas Island had virtually all its coral bleached, and 85% of coral died. In some
reefs all the coral was killed.

These events started in 2014 when waters of the Pacific Ocean started to warm, in a pattern that resembled El . Niño
The El Niño never fully kicked in, but the warming caused widespread bleaching. In 2015, El Niño did occur, which spread
the bleaching even further until now.

Although the El Niño cycle tipped water temperatures over the edge, and triggered the bleaching, there was no doubt
the underlying cause is climate change. There have been two recorded global bleaching events previously, both of which
string El Niño events warmed oceans around the world- in 1998 and then 2010. Studies with modelling suggests the
conditions causing the most recent events would be average conditions that exist in our oceans in 20 years. Coral reefs
need between 10 and 15 years to regain their coral cover. The big fear is temperatures will continue to rise, pollution ,
and other factors will cause coral reefs to die off.

What do you think will happen if coral reefs all die within your lifetime?
Coral Reef Zoology and Importance Answer Sheet NAME_______________________________

Zoology:

1. List two animals that corals are related to.

Benefits:

9. List 6 benefits coral reefs provide.

Threats:

10. List 6 threats that lead to coral bleaching.

11. If a reef becomes bleached, does this mean it cannot survive?

12. What is the most likely factor to cause coral bleaching?

13. If coral reefs continue to become “bleached’, a)How will this impact the life in the ocean?

b) How will this impact life on land?

14. How would your life change if coral reefs all die as predicted?