Coral Reefs Quiz

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Key Vocabulary

Coral - Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically live in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Corals species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton

Runoff - Surface runoff is the flow of water that occurs when excess stormwater, meltwater, or other sources flow over the Earth's surface.

Symbiotic - type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic.

Zooxanthellae - single-celled algae photosynthesize and pass some of the food they make from the sun’s energy to their hosts, and in exchange the coral animal gives nutrients to the algae.

Polyp - The polyp is like a tin can open at just one end: the open end has a mouth surrounded by a ring of tentacles. The tentacles have stinging cells, called nematocysts, that allow the coral polyp to capture small organisms that swim too close.

Colony - a community of animals or plants of one kind living close together or forming a physically connected structure.

Resources
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What gives coral reefs their beautiful color?
Zooxanthellae
Coral Polyps
Ocean Light
None of the above
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Which of the following is NOT a coral?
Sea Anemone (Image: NOAA)
Staghorn Coral (Image: Coral Reef Alliance)
Brain Coral (Image: NOAA)
These are all corals! (Image: James D Watt)
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A sea anemone is NOT actually a coral, but it is closely related to corals and jellyfish!"Sometimes called the ‘flowers of the sea’, sea anemones are actually beautiful animals, closely related to jellyfish and corals. Like jellyfish and corals, anemones belong to the group Cnidarians. The name Cnidaria comes from the Latin cnidae which means ‘nettle’. All of the animals within this group have stinging cells which they use for the capture of prey and to protect themselves against predators. Sea anemones are simple animals, often attached to hard surfaces such as rocks and boulders. However there are also burrowing anemones that bury themselves in sand, mud or gravel on the sea floor." - https://www.mba.ac.uk/fact-sheet-sea-anemones
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Which of the following are characteristics of corals?Select all that apply.
Symbiotic relationship with algae
Can be made up of a huge colony of coral polyps
They are plants
They are animals
Coral cannot exist in deep water
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Coral reefs have symbiotic relationships with algae called zooxanthellae - which are single-celled algae that photosynthesize and pass some of the food they make from the sun’s energy to their hosts, and in exchange the coral animal gives nutrients to the algae. They can exist as individual polyps, or they can be huge colonies of coral polyps! Although commonly mistaken for plants, corals are actually animals! Even though it seems unlikely, some corals can actually exist in deep waters as well!Image: THE OCEAN AGENCY / XL CATLIN SEAVIEW SURVEY
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Coral Reefs are important because they provide valuable habitat for fish and other marine animals, as well as providing nurseries that are crucial to the livelihoods of coastal communities.
TrueFalse
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True! "Coral reefs are unlike anything else on the planet. In addition to providing valuable habitat for fish and other animals, they are incredibly beautiful, with seemingly infinite structures and growth forms. Some of their common names describe this diversity: staghorn, elkhorn, bird’s nest, brain, finger, mushroom, pillar, lettuce, lobed, and tube, to name just a few. Their intricate crevices and three-dimensional structures shelter many species of fish, marine worms, crustaceans, clams, and many other animals and plants, all of which play a unique and vital role in the coral reef ecosystem.Coral reefs are an important food source for the people who live near reefs, and, as nurseries, are vital to the world’s fisheries. Many of the compounds now being used in human medicines, including some that treat cancer, are found on coral reefs, with probably many more yet to be discovered. Coral reefs help humans in many other ways too: generating tourist dollars for communities, and—especially important in our changing climate—acting as natural barriers against storm events like hurricanes, typhoons, and even tsunamis. The annual value of the ecosystem services provided by coral reefs to millions of people is estimated to be over $375 billion. " Image: https://coral.org/coral-reefs-101/why-care-about-reefs/
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What are some threats faced by corals?
Changes in ocean temperature
Runoff and pollution
Coral bleaching
All of the above!
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All of the above are current threats to corals around the world!"Although they cover less than 0.1 percent of the earth’s surface, coral reefs are the most biodiverse marine ecosystems in the world. They are also among the most threatened. Today, coral reefs face multiple stressors at different scales. When global threats like warming waters combine with direct threats like overfishing and water pollution, it severely compromises the ability of corals to grow, reproduce and thrive. As much as one-third of all reef-building corals are at risk of extinction. Scientists predict that all corals will be threatened by 2050, with 75 percent facing high to critical threat levels." Image (a bleached sea anemone): https://coral.org/coral-reefs-101/reef-threats/
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How can you help protect corals?
Help reduce runoff and improve water quality
Protecting important communities of fish
Avoid harvesting or handling wild corals
All of the above!
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All of the above! "There is much that we can do locally to protect coral reefs, by making sure there is a healthy fish community and that the water surrounding the reefs is clean. Well-protected reefs today typically have much healthier coral populations, and are more resilient (better able to recover from natural disasters such as typhoons and hurricanes).Fish play important roles on coral reefs, particularly the fish that eat seaweeds and keep them from smothering corals, which grow more slowly than the seaweeds. Fish also eat the predators of corals, such as crown of thorns starfish. Clean water is also important. Erosion on land causes rivers to dump mud on reefs, smothering and killing corals. Clean water depends on careful use of the land, avoiding too many fertilizers and erosion caused by deforestation and certain construction practices." - https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/corals-and-coral-reefs Image: https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/corals-and-coral-reefs
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