Bio20 - 14 - Coral Reefs - Color

Lecture 14: Coral Reefs
Daily Study Guide:

1. Describe the basic biology of coral animals
2. State the abiotic conditions necessary for coral reefs
3. Name and describe the types of coral reefs
4. Describe the generalized food web of a coral reef
5. Explain why competition, predation, and grazing are
important on a coral reef
6. Describe some examples of symbiotic relationships
found on reefs
7. Explain the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic
value
8. Describe how humans are impacting coral reefs
Corals are animals
• Corals are cnidarians
• The coral polyp secretes a calcium carbonate skeleton.
• Most reef-building corals are colonial: interconnected
polyps that develop asexually from a single polyp.
Basic Types of Corals
• Hermatypic corals
– Reef builders
– Contain zooxanthellae, symbiotic
photosynthetic dinoflagellates
– Tropical in distribution: warm,
shallow water
• Ahermatypic corals
– Do not build reefs
– May not contain zooxanthellae
– Can be found in many locations
Coral Nutrition
• The coral
zooxanthellae produce
sugars through
photosynthesis.
àshared with the coral
àWhat kind of
relationship is this?
• Coral polyps also
ingest plankton and
other small prey
Other animals with zooxanthellae
Brown Variable Sponge

Upside-down Jellyfish
Giant Clam
Reproduction of Corals
Reproduction of Corals
Mass spawning events often occur, caused by
environmental cues.
https://youtu.be/zuHzNRynSLc
Coral Reef Distribution
Conditions for Growth of
Reef-Building Corals
• Hard substrate for • Narrow salinity range around
settlement 35 ppt
• Bright light for • Clear water
zooxanthellae • Low pollution levels
• Narrow temperature range
around 75ºF (tropical)
Reef Growth
1. New coral larvae
settle and grow on a
hard substrate (rock
or old coral skeletons)
2. Space is filled by coral
rubble and CaCO3
sediments
3. Sediments cemented
together by
encrusting organisms
and corals continue to
grow up
Reef Types – Fringing Reef
• Simplest and most common form of reefs
• Develop as narrow strips along the shore
• Reef flat and reef slope
Reef Types – Fringing Reef
Reef Types – Barrier Reef
• Barrier reefs also border coastlines
• Separated from land by a wide, shallow lagoon
Reef Types – Barrier Reef
Reef Types - Atolls
• An atoll is a circular reef surrounding a central
lagoon
• Sand cays and islands may be part of the atoll
• Form when a volcanic island is eroded by weather
and disappears (100K to 30 million years)
Reef Types - Atolls
Coral Reef Ecology
Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse and
productive ecosystems on Earth.
• 4,000+ fish species
• 700+ coral species
• 1 million+ total species associated with coral reefs
Scenes from Palmyra Atoll
https://youtu.be/CvVsmI-0JjE
Coral Reef Ecology
Coral reefs are some of the most productive ecosystems in the
ocean (up to 5,000 gC/m2/year), but they are found in very
nutrient poor water.
Coral larvae Fish larvae
Coral spawning
Fish community
(Allgeier et al. 2018; Ecosphere 9(6))

Typical Coral Reef Food Web
Competition on the Reef
• Competition between
corals is intense.
àFor what resources?
• Corals can sting each
other with mesentery
filaments
• Many soft coral
produce toxins that
are released into the
surrounding water
Grazing on the Reef
• Algae grazers are very
important on coral
reefs
• Without them, fast-
growing algae would
take over
• Large predators like
sharks are important
to maintaining a
healthy grazing
community
Grazing on the Reef
What happens when you remove grazers?
Symbiosis on the Reef
Clownfish and Anemone Fish and Cleaner Shrimp
ß Mimic fangblenny
ß Cleaner Wrasse
Watchman Goby and Pistol Shrimp
Why care about coral reefs?
Intrinsic Value Extrinsic Value
• Coral reefs are a unique • Food source for people
ecosystem who live near reefs
• Coral reefs are beautiful • Nursery for fishery
• Biodiversity species
• Compounds used in
human medicine
t e m • Tourism money
s y s
c o
E r v ic e s • Coastal protection
Se during storms
• Total value = $375+
billion dollars
Human Impacts on Coral Reefs
Sewage Outfalls
Agriculture Run-Off
Destructive Collection Practices
Dynamite Cyanide
Tourism
Over-Fishing
Curio Trade
Coral Stress and Bleaching
• Bleaching: coral expels
zooxanthellae due to stress or
disease
• Zooxanthellae give the corals
their distinctive color.
• Coral can recover if stress
stops or does not happen
often
• Stressors include:
• Disease
• Poor water quality or sediment
• High wave action
• High temperatures
Ocean Acidification
Ocean Acidification

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Lecture 14: Coral Reefs

Daily Study Guide:

Brown Variable Sponge

Coral larvae Fish larvae

(Allgeier et al. 2018; Ecosphere 9(6))

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