Download First you will need to find out more about corals` life cycles to do this

1. First you will need to find out more about corals’ life cycles to do this please visit
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/coralreef_spawning after watching the video
complete the “Coral Life Cycle Diagram” below by cutting out the pieces and correctly ordering
pictures and phrases on the diagram.
Planula
larvea
developes
and drifts
with
currents
Egg meets
sperm
Colony
sexually
matures in 45 years
Planulae settles
and polyp
begins to
develop laying
down a
skeleton
Colony
begin to
grow
through
polyp
budding
Developmen Release of
t of zygote
sperm and
egg bundles
from mature
corals
2. You are asked to discover the relationship that exists between the coral and the algae using
the resources provided to you.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral02_zooxanthellae.html
http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/coral101/symbioticalgae/
a. What is the name of the algae that is contained within the coral structures?
b. In a couple sentences please describe the symbiosis relationship that exists
between the two organisms.
c. Describe the process, which occurs if the algae leave the coral structure?
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3. To better understand how climate change affects the corals specifically in the heating of the
ocean waters review http://www.coralwatch.org/web/guest/coral-bleaching.
a. Describe how the corals are impacted is seawater temperatures reach above a
temperature certain threshold.
b. Is there a way that corals can recover from a bleaching event, if so, how?
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4. Review Pictures and video at the bottom of the webpage, which compared healthy corals
versus s unhealthy corals.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/healthy-dying-dead-this-is-what-it-looks-like-whena-reef-is-bleached_us_5660df23e4b08e945feed91a?%3Bir=Travel&utm_hp_ref=travel
a. Determine the differences in the structure, besides color, what else is different
about the corals?
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5. To understand more about how Global Climate Change is impacting our reef systems visit
http://coralreef.noaa.gov/threats/climate/
a. What climate-induced factors are contributing to coral reef threats?
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6. Visit http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/bleaching5km/index_5km_baa_max_r07d.php
a. Which global regions are experiencing “Alert Level 1 or 2” currently?
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7. Let’s take a closer look at Florida by visiting
http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/vs/timeseries/florida.php#florida_keys
Using the drop down tool on the right-hand side, look at the graph data for all 2-year periods.
a. What month(s) were the warmest for 2013-2014, what was the highest
recorded Sea Surface Temperature (SST) for that period?
b. What month(s) were the warmest for 2014-2015 what was the highest
recorded Sea Surface Temperature (SST) for that period?
c. What month(s) were the warmest for 2015-2016 what was the highest
recorded Sea Surface Temperature (SST) for that period?
d. At any point during those peak SST periods was the bleaching threshold ever
reached? If so, when and what was the oC?
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8. Florida has been particularly susceptible to coral threats recently read the flowing article
http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/bleaching-and-disease-aredevastating-floridas-coral-reef/2251309
a. Where is Florida did the described bleaching event occur?
b. What two corals impacted are currently on the “Endangered Species List”?
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9. How can humans help mitigate threats to our coral reefs?
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