Table of Contents Coral Reef Cart Collection
Themes and Concepts What is a Coral?
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- General Information See earlier section, “Coral Biology,” page 5. Things to Notice/Facts to Share
- Things to Notice/Facts to Share
- Specimens pencil sea urchin cowrie shell parrotfish jaw Supporting materials
- Discuss predator prey relationships
Themes and ConceptsWhat is a Coral?SpecimensHard coralscolonial (Pocillopora, brain coral, Turbinaria) solitary (mushroom coral) Soft coral (gorgonian)Supporting materialsdiagram of coral structure. photographs of various coral species. General InformationSee earlier section, “Coral Biology,” page 5. Things to Notice/Facts to ShareStony structure of hard coral is composed of calcium carbonate. These are reef-building corals. Note the diversity of shapes. Coral shapes are influenced by their surroundings and the energy of their water environment. Examples of corals in high energy environments are brain or mushroom corals. Finely branched corals typically inhabit low energy environments. Gorgonian and sea fan are soft corals with skeletons composed of a protein called gorgonin or calcium carbonate spicules. This allows for flexibility in a high-energy environment. Multiple, small holes in Pocillopora and Turbinaria are where each individual polyp in the colony lived. When feeding, the polyps emerge from the holes, and the entire living colony covers the calcium carbonate shell. (See diagrams and photographs). Brain coral has valleys and ridges. The polyps reside in the valleys. Compare colonial coral specimens to solitary mushroom coral that consists of a single organism. When its tentacles emerge, it resembles a sea anemone. Since it is only one animal, it has only one mouth. Feeding StrategiesCarnivorous OrganismsSpecimenshard coral sandbar shark jaw triggerfish skull octopus beak Linkia seastar chocolate chip sea star murex shells Triton’s Trumpet shell cone snail shell sea horses Supporting materialsphotographs of organisms shark models Things to Notice/Facts to ShareCorals have tentacles with stinging cells called nematocysts. They catch small fish and zooplankton using these stinging cells. At night the coral polyps emerge for feeding. Shark jaw. The teeth are not lodged permanently within the jaw, but are attached to a membrane known as a tooth bed. The tooth bed is like a conveyor belt, moving the rows of teeth forward as the shark grows, thus replacing older teeth that have become damaged, fallen out or worn down. Octopus beak. Diet is mainly crustaceans and molluscs, plus fish and other octopuses. The octopus uses its beak to drill into the shell of its prey. It secretes a toxin that paralyses the prey and begins to dissolve it. The shell is pulled apart and the prey is consumed. Note: the cuttlefish and Nautilus are also carnivorous cephalopods. Sea stars. They feed on molluscs, using their tube feed to pry open the shell a little. Then they insert their stomach into the shell and digest the organism externally. Triggerfish. Uses strong teeth to consume sponges, molluscs and crustaceans. Cone snail. Uses its harpoon-like radula to inject venom into its prey, typically another cone snail. An extension of its shell acts like a rifle barrel. Researchers have discovered that certain chemicals in cone snail venom have the potential to treat chronic pain, cancer and other afflictions. One synthetic drug developed may be a thousand times more effective than morphine without any of its addictive properties. Murex and Triton’s trumpet are carnivorous snails. They bore a hole in the shell or outer covering of their prey in order to consume it. Murex snails eat other molluscs. Triton’s trumpet snails eat sea stars, including the Crown of Thorns sea star, and release a paralysing saliva to subdue their prey. Sea horses. Their long snout can only open at the tip. It feeds on small organisms by opening its mouth to create suction that draws its prey into its mouth. Filter FeedersSpecimensgorgonian coral sponges
ruffled clam shell Supporting materialsphotographs of organisms manta ray model Things to Notice/Facts to ShareSponges. Sponges are primitive, sessile, mostly marine, aquatic filter feeders that pump water through their bodies to filter out particles of food matter. Ruffled clam. Clams are filter feeders, ingesting nutritious plankton and micro-organisms that are pumped in and out through “siphons”. Gorgonian corals are considered filter feeders because they turn their “fan” so that it is oriented across the prevailing current. This facilitates the catching of plankton and particulate matter. Manta rays are large rays averaging 22 feet wide. They are found in tropical waters and eat microscopic plankton, small fish and tiny crustaceans. Manta rays filter-feed in open water by funneling food into their mouth while they swim, using two large, flap-like cephalic lobes that extend forward from the eyes. They have a short tail and no stinging spine. HerbivoresSpecimenspencil sea urchin cowrie shell parrotfish jaw
Supporting materialsphotographs of organisms Things to Notice/Facts to SharePencil sea urchin. Sea urchins graze on algae using a specialized mouth part called Aristotle’s lantern. This organ is located on the underside of the urchin and is made up of five carbonate teeth with a fleshy tongue-like structure within. Cowrie snail. This snail grazes on algae using its sandpaper-like radula. Parrotfish. This fish uses its parrot-like jaws to rasp algae from coral and other substrates (bioerosion). It is considered to be herbivorous but will eat a variety of reef organisms including coral polyps. After digestion, it excretes the broken down rock as sand, thus creating small islands and sandy beaches. One fish can produce 90 kg of sand per year. The teeth grow continuously. Interpretation IdeasCompareparrotfish jaws triggerfish jaws shark jaws octopus beak Discuss predator prey relationshipsTriton’s Trumpet/Crown of Thorns Triton’s Trumpet/Blue Linkia sea star octopus/hermit crab pufferfish/blue Linkia sea star pufferfish/urchins, corals triggerfish/urchins triggerfish/Tridacna clams octopus, shark, triggerfish/Nautilus sharks/pufferfish hammerhead sharks/rays Directory: 2008 2008 -> Exam 1 of Computer Networks (ice 1230) 2008 7 2008 -> Program description 2008 -> Curriculum Vitae Museok Song 2008 -> Word Wall Chants Use these as fun ways to practice word wall words at home! 2008 -> Rockettothesky 2008 -> "Unique " "dfo " "Glide " "Country" "Other" "Nations" "X. Affected" "Locations" "Rivers" "Began" "Ended" "Days" "Dead" "Displaced" "Damage usd." "Main cause" "Severity " "Affected sq km" "Magnitude m " "Notes and 2008 -> The environment in the news 2008 -> Virginia High School League Scholastic Bowl page 2007-08 District Competition Match #46 2008 -> Missouri State High School Activities Association Match #12 2007-08 Conference & Tournament Competitions page 2008 -> Louisiana state university health science center new orleans emergency medicine residency program policies to supplement lsuhsc house officer manual Download 211.7 Kb. Share with your friends:
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