Coral Reef
the amazing world...
Table Of Contents
Introduction -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------pg.2 The Structure Coral polyps ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg.3 Limestone -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg.4 The Growing Process Forming Coral Reef ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg. 5 Polyp Growth ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------pg. 6 The Types Barrier Reefs and Great Barrier Reef--------------------------------------------------------------------- pg. 7 Montastrea Annularis ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg. 8 Coral Colonies ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg. 9 The Changes Through Time Coral Reefs at Risk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg.10 Glossary --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg.11 Cited Sources -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg.12 About the Authors -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg.13 Back Cover ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg. 14 Acknowledgments -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg.15
Introduction Welcome to the coral reef- the most complex and dazzling habitat on earth, and still the most mysterious. Humans have long been drawn to coral’s beauty but remained ignorant of its origins until the 1800s. It took Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution to discover how and why coral reefs are formed. His quest triggered a scientific debate about the curious paradox of coral reefs. How do tropical seas which are as poor in nutrients as sand in a desert support such bountiful underwater oases? A box full of answers to all your questions and wonders that one would never believe lies within your reach. You just have to find it in the ocean. Dive in the world of coral reefs!
Growing in the warm and shallow waters of the world, strange things lie barely hidden. Tiny creatures of antiquity more plant than animal build secret cities on the skeletons of their dead. Technicolor walls of living matter shield leopard spotted eels that spring like ghoulish jack in the boxes. Elegantly armored crabs scuttle after leftovers dropped by sharks. Clouds of translucent, bug eyed shrimp swirl over coral gardens. Curtains of silvery anchovies shimmer against the deepening blue. And everywhere you look , masses of fishes in Day-Glo colors and eccentric shapes spin and zigzag in a nonstop carousel of color.
The Structure Coral Polyps Corals are marine invertebrates that come from the class “Anthozoa” of phylum Cnidaria. They typically live in compact colonies of a lot of identical individual “polyps”. This group also includes the important reef builders who live in the tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form tough skeletons.
A grown polyp Coral polyp is a group of small polyps who live together. A polyps body is tube shaped and its mouth is surrounded by tentacles. All of the polyps feed at night.
“Polyps” are multicellular organisms that were once thought as plants. But later on, people have found out that they had thin cell membranes that only comes from animals. They are a few millimeters in diameter and they use their tentacles to catch microscopic food. Coral reefs are made out of polyp skeletons.
Limestone Some organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, ... Coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells .
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of minerals calcite and aragonite which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate. It is an important part of coral reefs. Most limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms like coral or foraminifera.
Limestone makes up about 10% of the total volume of all sedimentary rocks. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions lead to karst landscapes, in which water erodes the limestone over thousands and millions of years. Many cave systems are through limestone bedrock.
The Growing Process Forming Coral Reefs Most of the coral reefs we can see today were formed after the last glacial period when melting ice caused sea level to rise and flood the continental shelves. This means that many modern coral reefs are less than 10,000 years old.
The vast majority of these islands are volcanic in origin. The few exceptions have tectonic origins where plate movements have lifted the deep ocean floor on to the surface. As communities established themselves on the shelves, the reefs grew upwards, pacing rising sea levels. Reefs that rose too slowly would become drowned reefs, covered by so much water that there was not enough light. Coral reefs are found in the deep sea away from the continental shelves, around the oceanic islands and as atolls.
Polyp Growth A new reef is usually started by a single polyp that is the offspring of fully developed polyps already established in a reef. This new polyp is created by sexual reproduc;on or the union of male and female sex cells. In some kinds of stony corals, there are separate male and female polyps, while in others, polyps are capable of producing both male and female reproduc;ve cells.
If a planula survives this early period of its life it eventually finds a res;ng place on some hard surface no more than 150 feet (45 meters) beneath sea level. Once seMled, it immediately begins producing limestone to aMach itself permanently to its new home and to protect its soN body. Hidden in its limestone shelter, the planula completes its development and becomes a mature coral polyp.
When a polyp produces male cells or sperm, it expels them into the water. The sperm are then taken into the bodies of polyps that have produced female cells or eggs. Here the reproduc;ve cells unite to form immature polyps, called planulae.
Released from their parent’s body through the mouth opening, the ;ny planulae swim through the ocean water for several hours or days. During this ;me, their lives are constantly threatened by many marine predators that feed on undeveloped polyps and other young sea creatures.
The Types Barrier Reef and the Great Barrier Reef A common kind of reef, the barrier reef is separated from the shoreline by areas of shallow water called lagoons. Instead of fringing the land, a barrier reef runs parallel to it forming a division between the rough waters of the open sea and the calm waters of the sheltered lagoons.
The great Barrier Reef, located off the north eastern coast of Australia, is the world’s largest and best known coral reef.
Great Barrier Reef
This enormous forma;on of limestone stretches for more than 1200 mukes (1920 kilometer) and, at its widest extends more than 159 miles(241 kilometers) from the shore. Like most large reefs of the barrier type, the great barrier reef is made up of many smaller reefs separated by channels that connect the enclosed lagoons to the open sea. This immense reef complex includes many different environments inhabited by a great variety of living things.
Coral Colonies
A typical coral reef includes many colonies of living corals, but the greater part of the reef structure is made up of limestone shells from colonies whose inhabitants are no longer alive. When coral polyps die, their soN bodies decay, but their hard limestone skeletons remain. As new colonies establish themselves on the rocky founda;ons leN from the dead corals, the reef grows ever larger and more complex.
Montastrea Annularis Montastrea annularis, mostly known as the boulder star coral, is a species of coral that lives in the western Atlan;c Ocean. It is the most thoroughly studied and most abundant species of reef building coral in the Caribbean today. It also has a comprehensive fossil record within the Caribbean.
This species complex has been considered a generalist for a long ;me. It exists at depths between 0 and 80 meters that grew in varying colony shapes like heads, columns, and plates) in response to differing light condi;ons. Only recently with the help of molecular techniques has Montastrea annularis been shown to be a complex of at least three separate species. These species are divided into Montastrea annularis, Montastrea faveolata, and Montastrea franksi.
Coral Reefs at Risk Coral reefs are danger all around the world. Mostly from coral mining, agricultural, urban runoff, pollu;on (organic and inorganic), overfishing, blast fishing, disease, and the digging of canals and access into islands and bays are all localized threats to coral ecosystems. Broader threats are sea temperature rise, sea level rise and pH changes from ocean a c i d i fi c a ; o n , a l l a s s o c i a t e d w i t h greenhouse gas emissions. In 1998, 16% of the world's reefs died as a result of increased water temperature. General es;mates show approximately 10% of the world’s coral reefs are dead. About 60% of the world's reefs are at risk because of human-‐related ac;vi;es. The threat to reef health is par;cularly strong in Southeast Africa, where 80% of reefs are endangered. Over 50% of the world's coral reefs may be destroyed by 2030; as a result, most na;ons protect them through environmental laws.
In the Caribbean and tropical Pacific, direct contact between ~40–70% of common seaweeds and coral causes bleaching and death to the coral via transfer of lipid-‐soluble metabolites. Seaweed and algae proliferate given adequate nutrients and limited grazing by herbivores such as parrodish. Water temperature changes of more than 1–2 °C (1.8–3.6 °F) or salinity changes can kill some species of coral. Under such environmental stresses, corals expel their Symbodium; without them, coral ;ssues reveal the white of their skeletons, an event known as coral bleaching. Submarine springs that were found along the coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula produce water with a naturally low pH (a measure of acidity) providing condi;ons similar to those expected to become widespread as the oceans absorb carbon dioxide. Surveys discovered mul;ple species of live coral that appeared to tolerate the acidity. The colonies were small and patchily distributed, and had not formed structurally complex reefs such as those that compose the nearby Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.
Rela;ons to humans Local economies near major coral reefs benefit from an abundance of fish and other marine creatures as a food source. Reefs also provide recrea;onal scuba diving and snorkeling tourism. These ac;vi;es can damage coral but interna;onal projects such as Green Fins that encourage dive and snorkel centres to follow a Code of Conduct has been proven to mi;gate these risks.
In medicine, chemical compounds from corals are used for cancer, AIDS, pain, and other uses. Coral skeletons, e.g. Isididae are also used for bone graNing in humans.
Pollution from the factories
Live coral is highly sought aNer for aquaria. SoN corals are easier to maintain in cap;vity than hard corals.
Please help save the coral reefs! They are in great danger. The city of the sea is about to be gone forever. If the coral reefs are lost, they will be a great affect to everything. So please help save the coral reefs. You could do that by saving energy, turning off lights, and driving less cars!
Glossary Establish: To set up and make firm or secure. Or to found. Complex: Consis;ng of interconnected or interwoven parts; composite. Abundant: Plen;ful, having enough Molecular: 1. rela;ng to, or consis;ng of molecules. 2. rela;ng to simple or basic structure or form. Fringing: Something that resembles such a border or edging Immense: Extremely large; huge. Ph: A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solu;on, numerically equal to 7 for neutral solu;ons, increasing with increasing alkalinity and decreasing with increasing acidity. The pH scale commonly in use ranges from 0 to 14. Acidifica;on: To make or become acid. Emissions: The act or an instance of emimng Proliferate: To grow or mul;ply by rapidly producing new ;ssue, parts, cells, or offspring. Adequate: Sufficient to sa;sfy a requirement or meet a need. Carbon dioxide: A colorless, odorless, incombus;ble gas, CO2, formed during respira;on, combus;on, and organic decomposi;on and used in food refrigera;on, carbonated beverages, inert atmospheres, fire ex;nguishers, and aerosols. Also called carbonic acid gas. Mi;gate: To become milder. Atolls: A type of reef Insufficient: Unable; not sufficient Sperm: A male gamete or reproduc;ve cell; a spermatozoon. Marine: Rela;ng to the sea Phylum: A primary division of a kingdom, as of the animal kingdom, ranking next above a class in size. Invertebrates: Lacking a backbone or spinal column; not vertebrate. Mul;cellular: Having or consis;ng of many cells Membranes: A thin, pliable layer of ;ssue covering surfaces or separa;ng or connec;ng regions, structures, or organs of an animal or a plant
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Humans like to roam in the sea. It is natural, but, go lightly there. For the city of the sea is not to be disturbed.
Coral Reefs
!e city of " sea