Thursday, April 9, 2009
Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are amazing places with a colorful variety of species. Discuss the formation of coral reefs and what it is about the coral reefs that allows myriad species to thrive. Describe at least two invertebrates of different phylums and at least one vertebrate that live off of coral reefs. In your description, talk about the specific physical traits of the species and what the species may provide to the coral reefs. ---- see chapter 8 pg. 191
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Coral reefs form initially around new or existent tropical islands; such reefs are fringing reefs. These fringing reefs develop into barrier reefs as the island becomes inundated with water, forming a lagoon. Finally the barrier reef turns into atoll as the island is completed inundated by the sea. Coral reef community maximizes the amount of food available, by efficiently cycling essential macromolecules between the corals, symbiotic zooxanthelles, and the other organisms living off the reef. Cyanobacteria living on the reef also provide essentially nitrates to the reef community by fixing nitrogen. The corals themselves and the large populations of zooplankton and phytoplankton living in the reef community provide copious amounts of food to larger heterotrophic organisms. The abundance of different varieties of food allow many species of organisms to thrive in the coral reefs.
ReplyDeleteThe Labroides dimidiatus(italics for all of the post) is unique vertebrate found in coral reefs of the Indian Ocean. The Labroides dimidiatus live up to 4 years and can grow up to 14 cm in length. The Labroides dimidiatus is known as the cleaner fish since it eats,"cleans", parasites from the gills of other fish in the coral reef community. The Labroides dimidiatus provides a cleaning service to the reef's organisms. The Goniopora lobata(italics for all the post) is an invertebrate living in the coral reef community which has a dome shaped base from which many green flower-like tentacles extend.Goniopora lobata has symbiotic zooxanthelles which allow it to produce large amounts of oxygen and essential macromolecules which feed many other organisms of the reef. Heteractis magnifica are another species of invertebrates that inhabit coral reefs. The Heteractis magnifica have large purple bases from which green tentacles extend. Heteractis magnifica also have symbiotic zooxanthelles and act as a home for clown fish.
Vikram already described the formation of the coral reefs, so there is no reason to be redundant.
ReplyDeleteOne species that lives off of the coral reef is the blue-ringed octopus, a shape-shifting invertebrate that is one of the few predators of the mollusk world. It changes its colors and textures to match that of the many areas of the coral reef. It cloaks itself so that it may ambush its prey effectively, and the prey is oftentimes an invertebrate. Several species of crabs live on the coral reef, including the porcelin crab, which is a filter feeding anenome dweller. It lives in the sea anenome, as a measure of protection from the reef predators, because the anenome is has painful stingers that affect predators. It feeds by filtering particles of food like krill from the surrounding water.