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Coral Reef Web-Quest

I. Review short movies of coral reefs at this link

A. Watch a variety of the movies. Make sure you watch Blastamusa, small bubble coral (670K) and pulsing Xenia.
B. List a structural trait they all have and a behavior they all share.
structural __________________________________________________________________________
behavior___________________________________________________________________________

II Review these next two sites to get a feel for the structure of coral reefs and their inhabitants.

A. Link 1  Review 8 to 10 videos. (You can speed them up by clicking on the forward button.)
B. Link 2  Be patient, it takes a while to load.

III. Coral overview. Click here. Anatomy and feeding: click on the link that says, "What are Corals?"

A. What does it mean that corals are colonial organisms?
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B. How do corals feed?
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IV. Drawing. Click here.

A. Draw a coral polyp and label the mouth, tentacles, stomach, and nematocysts. (Click on the polyp diagram to get the labels.) Next to each label, state its' function.










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V. What is the name of the hard substance that polyps secrete which is made of calcium carbonate and forms reefs? Hint - it forms the cuplike structure that holds the polyp.

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VI. Describe the mutualistic relationship between zooxanthellae and corals.

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VII. Reef formation. Click here to read how coral reefs form. "http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral04_reefs.html?

A. Explain how coral reefs are formed.
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B. What are the 3 kinds of reefs?
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2.________________________________________________________________________________
3.________________________________________________________________________________

VIII. Location. Click here to read where coral reefs are found.

1. What two latitudes are most corals located between?
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2. List two reasons why corals require clear waters.
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IX. Importance of coral reefs. Click here to read about the importance of coral reefs.

A. In what way are coral reefs like tropical rain forests
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B. List 4 benefits of coral reefs.
1.________________________________________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________________________________________
3.________________________________________________________________________________
4.________________________________________________________________________________

X. Natural threats. Click here to read about natural threats.
A. List 2 natural threats to coral reefs.
1.________________________________________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________________________________________
B. What is bleaching and what kinds of events cause it?
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XI. Click here to find out about anthropogenic threats to coral reefs. Click on the link that says "Anthropogenic Threats" and list three threats.

1. _______________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________

XII. Getting involved

A. List 3 things that you could do to help coral reefs.
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2.________________________________________________________________________________
3.________________________________________________________________________________
B. Give three reasons why coral reefs are important.
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2.________________________________________________________________________________
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XII. Assessing your progress.
A. Take the quiz using only your memory. Record your score.
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B. Write corrected statements for any questions you missed.
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