coral reef communities
DESCRIPTION
Coral Reef Communities. Patrick Smith, Michelle Franklin, Max Woerfel , Nick Patricca. Introduction. Coral Reefs are one of the most productive places on the Earth Only cover .1% of the world but support a quarter of all marine species Made up of calcium carbonate structures Highly diverse - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Coral Reef CommunitiesPatrick Smith, Michelle Franklin, Max Woerfel, Nick
Patricca
IntroductionCoral Reefs are one of the most productive
places on the EarthOnly cover .1% of the world but support a
quarter of all marine speciesMade up of calcium carbonate structuresHighly diverse
Enhances resistance to environmental perturbations
IntroductionCoral reefs are sustained by the complex
relationships between the species living thereMany symbiotic relationships
Mutualisms are especially importantCorals themselves get up to 90% of their
nutrients from symbiotic relationships
IntroductionThere are three types of mutualisms
Trophic – mutualism comes in the form of resources
Dispersive – one partner gets resources and the other gets a service
Defensive – mutualism comes in the form of services
Relationships in the Reef
Relationships- The coral reef ecosystem is a unique place
for these to occur due to the high level of biodiversity
- Remarkable for the many mutualisms which occur in the community
- Hermatypic corals and zooxanthellae- Cleaner fish and their clients- Clown anemonefish and sea anemones - Parrotfish and Rabbitfish
Hermatypic Corals and ZooxanthellaeHermatypic Corals- Make up the reef- Secrete hard calcium exoskeletonZooxanthellae- Algae capable of photosynthesis
Hermatypic Corals and ZooxanthellaeHermatypic Corals provide defense and
shelter for zooxanthellae
In return, zooxanthellae use photosynthesis to create their own nutrition
Cleaner Fish and Clients
Cleaner Fish and ClientsCleaner fish - Typically smaller fish- Most common is the Bluestreak Wrasse
Clients- Larger fish- Larger aquatic animals
- Turtles- Rays- Sharks
Cleaner Fish and ClientsThe cleaner fish nibble harmful parasites off
of their clients- Client fish are unable to do this themselves
The cleaner fish receives a cheap and quick meal of the parasites
This mutualism often develops into long term relationships where a client will visit a “cleaning station” repeatedly
Cleaner Fish and Clients http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOa8y95khK8http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOC2Qc2Qedw
Cleaner Fish and ClientsResearch shows this mutualism is critical to
the survival of reef communities and their biodiversity
- The bluestreak wrasse was eliminated from small reefs near Lizard Island, and kept away for 8.5 years
- Caused a 37% decrease in fish abundance, 23% decrease in biodiversity, and a decrease in size of fish
Clown Anemonefish and Sea Anemones
Clown Anemonefish and Sea AnemonesSea Anemones provide the clownfish with
shelter- When young, clownfish go through a process
called “anemone rubbing”Clownfish provide the sea anemones with
nutrients- Drag food back to the anemone- Consume zooplankton and excrete ammonia
in the anemone
Parrotfish and Rabbitfish
Parrotfish and Rabbitfishhttp://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T-gnZevlaY
Parrotfish and RabbitfishParrotfish- Herbivorous fish that use their specialized fused
teeth to scrape algae and invertebrates from hard coral and rocks
- Relatively defenseless against predators
Rabbitfish- Travel in schools- Have defense mechanisms of venomous spines and
color-changing for camouflage against predators
Parrotfish and RabbitfishThe Parrotfish’s grazing on algae is essential
to coral reef stability because it keeps algae from overtaking the reef and eliminating areas that fish can colonize and live in.
The Rabbitfish allows the Parrotfish to graze with its school. By doing so the Parrotfish is able to keep algae growth in check while being protected by the Rabbitfish school and their defense mechanisms.
ConservationInvasive species, eutrophication,
sedimentation, overfishing, coral bleaching, etc.
Role of anthropogenic causesReef damage is causing a shift from
specialists to generalistsDue to destruction of small niches
This shift can cause huge drops in species richness
Future ResearchCurrently there is much debate about how
big of an effect anthropogenic stressors are impacting the degradation of coral reefsSome scientists believe most is natural
disturbancesOthers believe it is anthropogenic
Important research could be determining how much humans are effecting the degradation
Future ResearchThe resilience of coral reefs is important due
to the current rate of degradationFuture research should concentrate on if and
how coral reefs can recover
Future ResearchIt would be extremely helpful to further look
into the mutualistic relationships that occur in coral reefs
Removal studies like the one done on the bluestreak wrasse would give insight to the importance of the mutualisms
SummaryThe health of the reef depends on the
complex relationships occurring in the ecosystem.
High diversity, which can be seen by the amount of mutualistic relationships, can indicate the wellbeing of the reef.
Once diversity is lost it can not be recovered