Coral Reef

Kevin Bouwman ED 205-02

Coral Reef
Coral Reefs have
illuminates many of
the Earths crystal clear
seas for thousands of
years, providing a rich
diverse ecosystem
while providing a
colorful flora and fauna
for those who venture
to them. It is a colorful
life that resembles the
world we live in.

Seascapes
Diversity
Survival
Resources
Authors Bio
Concept Map

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Seascapes

Sea Grass Beds

Coral Reefs
Sand Flats
Kelp Forests
Temperate Reefs

Reef, like cities, are

made up of many
different organisms
that provide a
critical role in its
survival.
There are as many
different types of
ecosystems
characterized by
unique traits and
special organism.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Sea Grass Video

Click on screen to view the video on

sea grass
Back to sea grass slide
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Diversity
Visitors of the many
different types of
ecosystems are welcomed
by numerous diverse
organisms. From tiny
invertebrates hiding in the
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.

Christmas Tree Worm

Pygmy Seahorses
Eagle Ray
Moray Eels

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Christmas Tree Worm

Christmas Tree Worms burry their
bodies into hard coral leaving their
colorful feeding tentacles exposed to
feed.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Survival

Predators
Arms and Armor
Deception
Schooling

For most prey

survival means being
avoiding being eaten.
Normally escape is
the easiest way of
avoiding a predator.
These organisms
have evolved special
skills to help protect
themselves from
predators.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.

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Resources
Images found atwww. Wikipedia.com
Information found in Reef, by the
ScubaZoo Association, 2008
Video used
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/search/as
setDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=6E7402A9-4DEB-4CB7B04F-6A1AF2C43BE7
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Authors 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.
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Concept Map

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