Section 5.7 Coral reefs:

 5.7 Tropical coral reefs

My guide to the chapter:

1 describe corals as animals that form colonies of polyps, often having photosynthetic microorganisms living in their tissues 

2 describe the structure of a typical coral polyp

3 describe the functions of the structures listed in 5.7.2 

• mouth

• stomach

• calcium carbonate skeleton

4 describe the mutualistic relationship between coral polyps and zooxanthellae

5 explain how environmental factors affect the distribution of corals in the oceans 

including:

(a) biotic factors

• parrot fish

• crown of thorns starfish

(b) abiotic factors

• temperature

• light intensity

• clear water

• hard substrate

6 state that the water around a coral reef is clear because it is low in nutrients, which are held within the organisms living there 

7 describe coral reefs as areas of high species richness 

8 describe the adaptations of organisms living around coral reefs 

including: 

(a) trigger fish – adapted dorsal fin holds the fish tightly in crevices for protection from predators 

(b) parrot fish – have a specialised set of grinding teeth for eating coral

 (c) nudibranchs – absorb toxins from prey to become toxic to predators

9 describe the Darwin–Dana–Daly theory of atoll formation

More video from our Coral Lab