CoralReef182Copy
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Pima Community College *
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182IN
Subject
Geography
Date
May 10, 2024
Type
docx
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7
Uploaded by MegaWhalePerson1032 on coursehero.com
2019
Name: Ishtar Camila Fregoso
Date: 04, 20, 2024
Student Exploration: Coral Reefs 1 – Abiotic Factors
Vocabulary:
consumer, coral, coral bleaching, coral reef, filter feeder, food chain, food web, grazer, nutrients, ocean acidification, pH, plankton, predator, producer, sediment, zooxanthellae
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1.
Look at the graph to the right. What does it show?
The coral in the caribbean decreasing
2.
Why do you think corals
have declined since 1977? Pollution from the environment, overfishing, buildings
Gizmo Warm-up
Coral reefs
are some of the most diverse habitats on Earth, home to over a quarter of all marine species. The Coral Reefs
Gizmo provides a simplified model of interactions among 10 key species in Caribbean reefs. In the Coral Reefs 1
exploration, you will focus on the effects of environmental factors on Caribbean reefs.
1.
Click Advance year
10 times. Look carefully at the composition of the reef over time. Do you see any major changes? Not many
2.
Select the DATA tab. Check that Staghorn coral
, Star coral
, Sponges
, and Algae
are selected. Populations are given as a percentage of normal populations. What do you notice about these populations? Populations are given as a percentage of normal populations
3.
On the right side of the Gizmo, select the SUMMARY
tab. In a healthy reef, what are the values for Nutrient load
, Water clarity
,
Coral cover
, and the total number of fish species?
Nutrient load: 4ppt
Water clarity: 94%
Coral cover: 49%
Total fish species:441
2019
Activity A: The Caribbean reef ecosystem
Get the Gizmo ready
: ●
On the CONDITIONS
tab, click Return to original settings
.
Click Restart
.
●
Select the CORAL REEF tab.
Introduction: A healthy Caribbean reef is home to over 50 species of coral and over 400 fish species. In this simplified model, we only consider the interactions of ten important species. Question: How do different species interact in a healthy coral reef?
1.
Describe
: On the CORAL REEF tab, click on each organism shown in the table below. For each organism, give its name and what it eats (or how it obtains energy).
Picture
Name
What it eats (or how it obtains energy)
Stage Horn coral
Photosynthesis symbiotic, algae Boulder star coral
sponge
filters feeder, plankton
algae
photosynthesis
stoplight parrot fish
algae
queen angelfish
sponge
yellowtail snapper shrimps, crabs, worms, younger fish
nassau grouper
snippers, angelfish, parrot fish
sea urchin
algae
Hawksbill sea turtle
sponges
2.
Corals obtain energy from tiny photosynthetic algae, called zooxanthellae
, which live inside the coral’s tissue. How do you think corals would be affected by cloudy, muddy water?
The coral would not be able to multiply as much as photosynthesis
(Activity A continued on next page)
2019
Activity A (continued from previous page)
3.
Classify
: A producer
is an organism that makes its own energy, usually from sunlight. A consumer
is an organism that gets energy by feeding on other organisms.
A.
Which of the reef organisms in this Gizmo are producers? The coral reef producers, are coral, zooanthellae, and algae B.
Which of the reef organisms are consumers? The reed consumers are snappers, grouper, parrotfish, angelfish, urchins, and sea turtles.
C.
Consumers in the reef can be further classified as filter feeders
, or organisms that eat plankton
by filtering water; grazers
, or organisms that feed on organisms that don’t move; and predators
, or organisms that eat other animals. List at least one example of each.
Filter feeders: Sponges
Grazers: Urchin
Predators: Grouper
4.
Create
: A food chain
is a series that shows which organisms obtain energy from other organisms. For example, the food chain “grass → mouse → hawk” means that the mouse eats grass and the hawk eats the mouse. Create two possible food chains for the Caribbean coral reef based on what you have learned about the ten organisms in this Gizmo.
Food chain 1: Algae, spotlight parrotfish, nassan grouper
Food chain 2:Sponges, queen angelfish, nassan grouper
5.
Challenge
: A food web
is a more complicated diagram that shows the feeding relationships of all the organisms in the ecosystem. As with a food chain, an arrow pointing from species A to species B indicates species B gets its energy from species A.
In the diagram at right, create a food web by drawing arrows to show which organisms obtain energy from others.
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