CORAL REEF

Kyle, Lauren, Amelia

WHERE IS ECOSYSTEM LOCATED?

• LOCATED IN THE TROPICS [WARM SEAS] NORTH AND SOUTH OF EQUATOR

• TROPICAL OCEANS FOUND ALONG COAST OF MORE THAN 100 COUNTRIES

• ALL CORAL REEFS TOGETHER ARE 110,000 SQUARE MILES, THIS IS THE SIZE OF STATE NEVADA

DESCRIBE THE ABIOTIC FACTORS OF YOUR ECOSYSTEM

• TEMPERATURE - 70-85 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT

• CORAL REEFS NEED SUNLIGHT TO LIVE

• NEEDS WARM WATER AND SALTY WATER

• WATER ALSO NEEDS OXYGEN

• CORAL NEEDS SANDY SOIL

PRODUCER: ALGAE. HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCER RELY ON OTHER ORGANISMS

IN THE CORAL REEF TO SURVIVE?

• NEEDS STRONG SUNLIGHT

• NEEDS CLEAR WATER

• LIVES IN POLYPS

• WATER TEMPERATURES 70-85 DEGREES F

HOW DO OTHER ORGANISMS OF YOUR ECOSYSTEM RELY ON YOUR PRODUCER TO

SURVIVE?

• CORAL POLYPS NEEDS TINY ALGAE TO SURVIVE

• DAMSELFISH, RABBITFISH AND SEA URCHINS EAT ALGAE

• BLUE TANG EAT ALGAE TO SURVIVE

• RED ALGAE AND BRYOZOANS HELP CEMENT REEFS TOGETHER

HOW DO HUMANS AFFECT YOUR ECOSYSTEM?

NEGATIVE

• PEOPLE BREAK CORALS

• PEOPLE OVERFISH REEFS

• PEOPLE POLLUTE WATER

POSITIVE

• SOME ORGANIZATIONS PROTECT REEFS

• SOME PEOPLE TRY TO REDUCE POLLUTION

• MARINE PARKS PROTECTS REEFS

CHOOSE ONE BIOTIC FACTOR IN YOUR ECOSYSTEM & DESCRIBE HOW A CHANGE IN ONE OF THESE COULD

AFFECT YOUR ECOSYSTEM? CHANGE: FARMERS USING FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS

THAT POLLUTE THE OCEAN

•CHEMICALS MAKE PLANKTON AND ALGAE GROW TOO MUCH

•ALGAE WILL CROWD THE CORAL; THEN THE CORAL DIES

•WHEN CORAL DIES, BLUE TANG (WHICH EATS CORAL) WILL DIE

•WHEN THE BLUE TANG DIES, THE BARRACUDA WILL DIE

•FINALLY, SHARKS WOULD DIE

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS:

• CORAL REEFS HELP STOP GLOBAL WARMING

• REEFS EXISTED WHEN DINOSAURS WERE ALIVE

• REEFS DIED WHEN DINOSAURS DIED BUT CAME BACK

• REEFS EXISTED ABOUT 400 MILLION YEARS AGO

SOURCES USED

• JOHANSSON, PHILIP. THE CORAL REEF A COLORFUL WEB OF LIFE. 3RD EDITION. BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ: ENSLOW ELEMENTARY, 2008. PRINT.