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Coral Reef
Biomes of the World
Term | Definition |
---|---|
What is a coral reef? | A large underwater structure composed of the skeleton of coral (a marine invertebrate animal) |
What does invertebrate mean? | An animal without a spine or backbone |
What does biodiversity mean? | the range (diversity) of plants and species of animals living |
Where is a coral reef mainly found? | Between 30 degrees North and South of the Equator on the continental shelf |
Western Atlantic coral reefs include | Bermuda, the Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico |
Indo-Pacific coral reefs include | Maldives, Australia, western Panama |
3 environmental conditions needed for coral reef to grow are | sunlight, warm water all year, water depth less than 30m |
What does symbiotic mean? | a mutually rewarding relationship |
What is a coral polyp? | an animal related to jellyfish which makes up a coral reef |
What is ZOOXANTHELLAE? | An algae which lives inside the coral polyp's body |
What is a coral reef's skeleton made of? | calcium carbonate |
Name the two ways a coral can feed | catch fish and plankton with their stinging tentacles from food provided by the zooxanthellae algae |
What percentage of the world's oceans are coral reef? | Less than 1% |
What percentage of marine life is contained in the coral reefs? | 25% |
What is the estimate of types of species living in the coral reefs? | 2 million species |
What is the continental shelf? | an area of seabed around the land but before the water depth increases |