Scleractinia Essays

Coral reefs worldwide have been disappearing at an alarming rate. The reason I chose the documentary Chasing Coral is that I am interested in gaining knowledge on environmental issues happening today. Corals are also fascinating creatures. From the outside, coral reefs may look like simple animals but are extremely complex on the inside. In the documentary, a group of divers, photographers, and scientists explore the causes of why coral reefs are dying off. As a result, they found that coral bleaching

Chase Ward Mrs. Walser Bio 2 8-31-15 Meandrina Throughout the ocean are many different types of corals, but located along the foot of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico lies the Meandrina. The Meandrina is a coral that can form spherical heads along with flat plates that extend for yards beneath the sea. Within the genus of Meandrina you have the meandrites. Meandrites are sometimes known as the “maze coral” this type of Meandrina is found on the slopes underneath the water in the common areas

1.) Corals are colonial organisms that are composed of individual polyps, which form coral reefs. There are three types of coral reefs; fringing, barrier, and atoll. Fringing coral reefs grow along the shore in shallow water while barrier reefs are separated from the shore by a deep lagoon. Atolls surround a lagoon and are circular. The two types of coral that make us these reefs are soft coral and hard coral. Soft corals have spiracle based skeletons while hard corals have calcium-based skeletons

Are artificial coral reefs beneficial for the marine environment? Overtime societies all over the world have used artificial coral reefs to embetter the marine environment by using large objects usually made for a different purpose that resemble certain natural reef characteristics. These artificial reefs are man-made underwater structures that are at times done on purpose and most commonly done by accident.1 There are many different kinds of artificial coral reefs, for example, wrecks, such

Corals reefs are known as the “home” for most of the marine species. They are variety of biological community found underwater strengthened by an organic compound, calcium carbonate, excreted by corals. Though most of the marine ecosystems are consist of massive and diverse population of coral reefs, they are still considered as delicate ecosystems, especially on various conditions. When they are stressed due to constant change of conditions like temperature,they yield a negative outcome called coral

Many organisms have a symbiotic relationship with coral, the three major ones being fish, algae, and dinoflagellate. Fish live inside of the coral reefs, and in return the coral gives it shelter. The fish will also eat excess algae on coral to help keep the coral healthy. The fish are also known as tertiary consumers in this situation (Payment 30). Algae is an organism that kills and protects coral, resulting in a rather interesting symbiotic relationship. Algae is not beneficial to young coral,

Coral reefs are the most diverse communities in the marine environment. Hermatypic-corals help form the structure of coral reefs and a shelter for a variety of organisms. Living coral reefs form land, provide the sand that lines tropical beaches, and the structures which prevent the waves from causing extensive coastal erosion. However, pollution from sewage and agricultural practices damages corals as well as the wide variety of organisms living within them. Stress is a physiological condition

Sponges Introduction: Sponges are sessile aquatic animals of the phylum Porifera; which literally means "pore-bearing. Sponges are the simplest of multi-cellular animals. Although there are freshwater species, the great majority of sponge species are marine which could be found at various depths ranging from tidal zones to depths exceeding 8000 m. Sponges live in a wide range of oceanic habitats, from the Polar Regions to the tropics. However, most sponges live in quiet, clear waters in order to

The crown of thorn starfish, Acanthaster planci, are currently responsible for a majority of the coral reef destruction occurring throughout the world. This creature consists of 13-16 arms that allow it to easily latch itself onto its prey. Crown of thorns starfish also contain a venomous spikey exterior that help protect them from predators that may be searching for an easy prey during their four to six-hour feed. These starfish consume coral by extruding its stomach and secretes emulsifying enzymes

Overall it was found that the exposed sites had significantly higher average diffusion indices and benthic coral cover (Figs. 2-5). This supports the idea that decreasing the boundary layer has a positive effect on conditions that allow scleractinian corals to grow. The experiment directly measured dissolution which indicates a shrinking of the diffuse boundary layer but this is highly indicative water motion, which brings with it its own environmental benefits. Decreasing the boundary layer should

Imagine you and your family went on a holiday to The Great Barrier Reef and you decided to go snorkelling but all you see is dead coral and no signs of fish. Well this is actually what is happening to our reef. Over the past 30 years we have witnessed it lose about 50% of its coral. The Great Barrier Reef is deteriorating at an alarming rate and we as Australians must stop it. What is really killing our reef? The coal industry, coral bleaching and poor water quality is how we are killing our beautiful

Scleractinia have generated a focus of high interest, due to their ecological importance and current uncertainty of reef systems. Through phylogenetic analysis conducted on single gene sequences, and concatenated mitochondrial and nuclear data the origins of this species was analysed. Findings pushed the evolutionary origins of Scleractinan corals deep into the Paleozoic, bridging the gap between the Ordovician and Mesozoic Scleractinia. Although the molecular markers

Evolutionary history of Coral Reefs, to go forward we must go back With the future of coral reefs being uncertain, and 2015 set to experience an El Nino to rival that of 1998, the future of these highly biodiverse ecosystems is something that researchers are rapidly trying figure out. Piecing together, and unlocking mechanisms involved in a coral species ability to adapt and or acclimatise, illustrate how some species of coral are more resilient to stress and answers as to what gives them this resilience

Stony corals, including those from the order Scleractinia, are the base or building blocks of coral reefs. Without this symbiosis, reefs would not be the way they are today, they wouldn’t be able to sustain much life. The fact that this symbiosis exists between two organisms from different kingdoms, corals