How Reefs Form:
• Form in shallow waters
• Tropical waters
• Along islands and continents
• Corals, made of Calcium Carbonate die and bodies stay
• Corals living
Importance of Coral Reefs:
• Biodiversity
• Home for vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants
• Productivity
• Recycling of resources
• “Tropical Rainforests of Oceans”
Background to Life:
• Calcium Carbonate skeleton
• Covered in Zooxanthellae which give it color
• Cnidaria
• Capture planktonic organisms with nematocyst
Degradation:
• Overexploitation
• Overfishing
• Sedimentation
• Nutrient overloading
Bleaching:
• Stress response
• Densities of Zooxanthellae on coral declines
• Concentration of Photosynthetic pigments falls
• Clear color from calcium carbonate skeleton
• No pigments on top if photosynthetic gone
• Causes death of coral
Causes:
• Temperature
• Solar irradiance
• Sub aerial exposure
• Sedimentation
• Fresh Water Dilution
• Inorganic Nutrients
• Xenobiotics
• Epizootics
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