NR 150 1st Edition Lecture 16 Outline of Last Lecture I Classification of Benthic marine environments by location II The importance of competition III Benthic organisms live on or in the seafloor Outline of Current Lecture IV Coral reefs V Development of an atoll VI Phylum Cnidarians 9000 species Current Lecture I Coral reefs a Coral reefs are the rain forests of the oceans b Rich coral reefs in nutrient poor water i Hypothesizes that they make nutrients by sponges filtering zooplankton and algae c Support many different species of marine life and sea birds d Form complex food webs e Hermatypic corals i Tropical corals that form reefs f Sea coral makes excellent human bone grafts i Coral s porous structure with some chemical tweaks is the perfect place for new bone and tissue growth ii Convert some of the coral s calcium carbonate to a more bone like material g Coral reefs yield new proteins to tackle HIV These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute h No coral reefs in the Southern Atlantic because of the sediments from Amazon River i Defense i Some have developed aggressive methods ii To survive and thrive in space limited environment some corals have developed defensive mechanisms iii Mesenterial filaments are string like extensions of the mesenteries the internal folds of tissues which create structure within a coral polyp s body 1 Typically full of nemocysts speciealized stingning cells used to capture prey iv Terpenoid compounds 1 Chemical warfare similar to turpentine impedes the growth of neighboring corals j Mutualistic relationships between corals and dinoflagellate endosymbionts i Dinoflagellates performs photosynthesis produce carbohydrates that the corals can eat k Symbiotic relationship between corals and zooxanthellae i Zooxanthellae provides 90 of the corals energy requirements 1 Photosynthesis 2 Absorb waste products ii Corals provide shelter and a safe and stable environment iii Coral s success in nutrient poor water depends on dinoflagellates and zooxanthellae l Coral bleaching i Corals have color when zooxanthellae are present in the tissue ii Algae crawling over the coral causes coral death zooxanthellae are removed corals turn white II Development of an atoll a Fringing reefs cling to the margin of land b Barrier reefs are separated from land by a lagoon c Atolls are ring shaped islands of coral reef enclosing lagoons III Phylum Cnidarians 9000 species a Jellyfish b Corals c Anemones
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