Coral Reef

Slide 1: Coral Reef Kevin Bouwman ED 205-02

Slide 2: Coral Reef • Coral Reefs have • Seascapes illuminates many of the • Diversity Earths crystal clear seas • Survival for thousands of years, providing a rich diverse • Resources ecosystem while • Author’s Bio providing a colorful flora • Concept Map and fauna for those who venture to them. It is a colorful life that resembles the world we live in. Qui t

Slide 3: Seascapes • Sea Grass Beds • Reef, like cities, are • Coral Reefs made up of many different organisms that • Sand Flats provide a critical role in • Kelp Forests it’s survival. • Temperate Reefs • There are as many different types of ecosystems characterized by unique traits and special organism. Qui t

Slide 4: Sea Grass Beds • Plants play an important role in the marine environment. The sea grass that inhabits this ecosystem is know as the only flowering plant found in the ocean which helps stabilizes the ocean floor. • Other species find this type of ecosystem as an optimal home and even huge sea turtles use this type of plant as there own personal sea castle. To View Sea Grass Beds Video Qui t

Slide 5: Coral Reef • When we hear the word reef, images of big bright fish and vivid and diverse plants, fill our mind. • Coral reefs are built up from skeletons of a species known as stony coral and any photosynthesizing microorganisms. • Coral reefs grow in warm sunlit, shallow waters, where the temperature is higher than 65 degrees all the time. • Coral reefs are low in nutrients due to increase in water temperatures and over oxidation of the waters. Qui t

Slide 6: Sand Flats • An underwater dessert would best describe a sand flat ecosystem. It is normally a stretch of land beyond the reef where the sediment floor seems to stretch into the dark waters of deep unknown ocean. • These barren sand plains are home for many animals who do not need shelter. • In case of predators in the area, smaller animals bury themselves in the sand, while others have evolved perfect camouflage resembling the sandy floor. Quit

Slide 7: Kelp Forest • Cooler waters of the tropics are towered by skyscrapers of kelp. They closely resemble that of an underwater rainforest with a large canopy of kelp inhabited by many photosynthesizing microorganisms which provide a base for a growing food chain. • These waters are high in nutrient value do to the decomposition of many rotting kelp plants. Qui t

Slide 8: Temperate Reefs • Light cannot penetrate these deep cold water were plankton and sediment are thick. • Here you will have a hard time finding most animals who inhibit it. They normally resemble the local plants by stretching their bodies. • Food is limited in these areas so animals have learned to fight with others by using chemicals found in their tissues. Qui t

Slide 9: Sea Grass Video Click on screen to view the video on sea grass Back to sea grass slide Quit

Slide 10: Diversity • Visitors of the many different • Christmas Tree Worm types of ecosystems are • Pygmy Seahorses welcomed by numerous diverse organisms. From tiny • Eagle Ray invertebrates hiding in the • Moray Eels rocks to some of the largest animals on the Earth, reef are an incredible ecosystem of diversity. • Galleries of fish, turtles, and other mammals, all live simultaneously with numerous types of bacteria, coral, and plants. Quit

Slide 11: Christmas Tree Worm • Christmas Tree Worms burry their bodies into hard coral leaving their colorful feeding tentacles exposed to feed. Quit

Slide 12: Pygmy Seahorses • These organisms are barely longer than a grain of rice. • They were actually discovered by mistake when a fan of sea horses collected the first known Pygmy Seahorse, by mistake. Quit

Slide 13: Eagle Ray • Eagle Rays are normally found in shallow waters around the coast of New Zealand. • They like the rocky shores and the warmer waters, while feeding on crustaceans in the kelp forests. Quit

Slide 14: Moray Eel Moray Eels are found through the Indian Oceans and a few other isolated ecosystems of the Pacific. These animals have an extra row of teeth on the top of their mouths used to hold prey with they attack. Quit

Slide 15: Survival • Predators • For most prey survival • Arms and Armor means being avoiding Deception being eaten. Normally • escape is the easiest • Schooling way of avoiding a predator. These organisms have evolved special skills to help protect themselves from predators. Quit

Slide 16: Predators • These organisms live high on the food chain and are extremely dangerous. • They rely on capturing and eating other animals to survive. • Most predators have a enlighten scenes. For example sharks have an amazing sense of smell, so intense they can sense the tiniest amount of blood in the water. Quit

Slide 17: Arms and Armor • Venom differ from toxins in the way they are injected into another species • Venom relies on teeth and spines to break skin where chemicals are injected. • Venom can be so strong where it kills cell tissue, intense pain, and death. Quit

Slide 18: Deception • The simplest way for an animal to protect itself is camouflage itself from a predator. This form of defense has been used for millions of years and overtime these animals evolve new skills of protection. Quit

Slide 19: Schooling • School is another way of protecting itself from predators. • Schooling is a common behavior where large groups of fish come together during the day, traveling in a group and dispersing when on of the fish sees a predator. Quit

Slide 20: Resources • Images found at…www. Wikipedia.com • Information found in… Reef, by the ScubaZoo Association, 2008 • Video used… http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/search/assetDetail. cfm?guidAssetID=6E7402A9-4DEB-4CB7-B04F-6A1AF2C43BE7 Quit

Slide 21: Author’s Bio • Hello, my name is Mr. Bouwman, an avid explorer of my own world around me. I have always been intrigued with the coral reef ecosystems and it many subcultures. I enjoy traveling and going on adventures. New experiences change the way you see the world and your never going to grow without. Quit

Slide 22: Concept Map Quit