!"#!"!!

Why are coral reefs important? What are coral reefs?

!! Support high biological diversity
!! Approx. 1000 different reef-building species of coral
!! 35,000-60,000 different reef-dwelling species
!! Estimated 1 – 9 million species undiscovered species
!! New drugs for cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infections, viruses,
and other diseases
!! http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/
player/environment/habitats-environment/
habitats-oceans-env/coral-reefs.html
!! Corals are colonies of tiny living animals

!! Home to 25% of all marine species !! Coral reefs are underwater structures made from
!! Reefs only occupy 1% of ocean calcium carbonate secreted by polyps
!! Mating, nursery and feeding grounds for important commercial fish !! Exoskeleton provides support and protection
Individual
!! Protect land from storm surges coral polyp
!! Use tentacles for feedings
!! 500 million people depend on reefs for subsistence !! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyLlXnasroY
!! $375 billion/year
!! $7.6 billion/year for Florida Keys
!! Fishing
!! Tourism
!! Protection

What are corals? What are zooxanthellae?

!! Two general categories !! Photosynthetic algae

!! (Most) Reef-building corals !! Live inside tissue of polyp

!! Symbiotic relationship with single-celled, photosynthetic organisms !! Mutualistic relationship with corals
called zooxanthellae
!! Coral provides protection and nutrients for
!! Live within the tissues of polyps and provide organic nutrients photosynthesis
!! Limited to shallow water (above euphotic zome) !! Zooxanthellae produce “food”, oxygen and Zooxanthellae
!! 90% of nutrients help the coral to remove wastes

!! Deep water corals !! Where do zooxanthellae get nutrients?

!! Waste products from coral polyps eating
!! Do not have symbiotic zooxanthellae
other stuff
!! Restricted to regions with sufficient food
Deep water corals
!! Zooplankton !! Tight recycling of nutrients in nutrient-poor
tropical waters
Left: healthy coral
Right: “bleached”
coral

!$
 !"#!"!!$

How do corals grow? How do coral reefs form?

!! Skeletons of stony corals are secreted by the lower !! Free-swimming coral larvae attach
to submerged rocks or other hard
portion of the polyp surfaces along the edges of islands
!! Produces a cup, or calyx, in which the polyp sits or continents
!! Called basal plate !! Corals grow and expand

!! Polyp will lift off its base and secrete a new basal plate !! Reefs take on one of three major
above the old one characteristic structure
!! Fringing
!! CaCO3 is deposited !! Barrie
!! Atoll

!! Grow 0.3 to 2 cm/year

!! 10 cm/year per year for branching
corals

!! 10,000 – 30,000,000 years for a coral

reef to form from a group of larvae

Where are coral reefs found? Natural threats to coral reefs

!! Cover 1% oceans' surface area
!! Corals growing in very shallow water are the most
!! Grow best in vulnerable to environmental hazards Right:
bleached
!! Warm
!! Clear (low nutrient areas)
!! Corals become physiologically stressed they begin to coral

!! Shallow (euphotic zone)

expel their symbiotic zooxanthellae
!! Salty
!! “Bleaching”
!! Agitated waters Location of coral reefs !! Death

!! Exist both in temperate and tropical !! Changes in sea surface temperature

waters
!! Majority occur in the zone extending
from 30°!N to 30°!S of the equator
!! Optimum temperature for most coral
reefs is 23–25 °C
!! Few reefs exist in waters above 30°C or
below 18°C
!! Majority of reefs occur in water less
than 50 m deep
!! Deep water coral can exist at greater
depths and colder temperatures
!! Weather and storms
!! Large waves, hurricanes, cyclones
!! El Nino events
!! Increased sea surface temperatures, decreased sea
level and increased salinity
!! 70-80% of all shallow-water corals in Indo-Pacific were
killed during the 1997-98 event
Boundary for 20 °C waters.
!! Low tides
Most corals live within this
!! Exposure to air, dries out polyps and kills them
boundary.

%$
 !"#!"!!$

Natural threats to coral reefs Anthropogenic threats to coral reefs

Crown-of-
thorns !! Overfishing & destructive fishing practices
!! Predation on soft inner tissue of coral sea star
polyp !! Coastal development and deforestation
!! Sea stars, fish, marine worms, barnacles, !! Mining coral for building materials
crabs, and snail
!! Crown-of-thorns sea star (Acanthaster !! Pollution
planci) !! Runoff from land may contain sediments, chemicals, insecticides, oil, and debris
!! High in nutrients
!! Disease !! Aren’t nutrients a good thing?

!! Occur in response to biological stresses, !! Collection of live corals and fish for the aquarium market
such as bacteria, fungi and viruses, and !! Cyanide fishing
nonbiological stresses, such as increased
sea surface temperatures, ultraviolet !! Sewage
radiation and pollutants !! High in nutrients
!! Increase in frequency over last 10 years
!! Sea surface temperature rise
Black-
band !! Ocean acidification
disease

What will happen to marine

Protecting coral reefs organisms?
!! Scientists have predicted that over 50% of the world's coral reefs
may be destroyed by 2030, as a result most nations protect them !! They get MAAD!
through environmental laws
!! Move – move away, shift their distributions or ranges to higher
!! In 1998, the Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF) was established to protect latitudes
and conserve coral reefs
!! 1st response
!! CRTF is responsible for
!! Mapping and monitoring U.S. coral reefs !! Acclimate – modify behavior
!! Researching the causes of coral reef degradation including pollution
and over fishing and finding solutions to these problems !! Adapt – evolve new attributes to cope with new environment
!! Promoting conservation and the sustainable use of coral reefs
!! Rate of change is very important
!! As a principle member of the CRTF, and as directed by the Coral Reef
Conservation Act of 2000, NOAA has the responsibility to conserve coral !! Generation time very important
reef ecosystems.
!! Size of populations is very important
!! In 2000, the Coral Reef Conservation Act passed !! Bigger have more opportunity for adaptation
!! Amendments in 2007 and 2009
!! Money for mapping, monitoring, research, collaboration, education, !! Die - extinction
protection and mitigating loss

#$