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Corals

Corals. Landlords of the Reefs. What should you know about corals?. They are animals Plants live inside of them Two kinds Soft corals Hard corals (These build reefs!) They are made of tiny polyps (which look like upside-down jellyfish). Hard Corals The Reef Builders.

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Corals

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  1. Corals Landlords of the Reefs

  2. What should you know about corals? • They are animals • Plants live inside of them • Two kinds • Soft corals • Hard corals (These build reefs!) • They are made of tiny polyps (which look like upside-down jellyfish)

  3. Hard CoralsThe Reef Builders • Polyps build hard limestone cups around their bases • The cups cement together to make a coral colony • Reefs are made of hundreds of hard coral colonies next to and on top of each other

  4. What’s a Polyp? • Tentacles release stinging cells when something brushes by them • Polyps make their own limestone cup to hide in during the day • At night, polyps come out to catch plankton floating by.

  5. Zoo-what!?! Algae, Coral Polyps’ Tenants • Inside polyps live zooxanthellae, which are algae. • Zooxanthellae give corals their color. • Since algae are plants, they use sunlight and CO2 to make food (the process known as photosynthesis).

  6. Symbiosis:So Happy Together • Two organisms living together and helping each other is called symbiosis. • Zooxanthellae make oxygen, remove the polyp’s wastes, and make food for the polyp from photosynthesis. • Coral polyps protect the zooxanthellae, release CO2, and provide it with necessary nutrients from their own waste.

  7. Mutually Beneficial SymbiosisA Win-Win Situation • Egyptian Plover bird and crocodile • Bumblebee and flowers • Lichens (fungi and algae) • Your intestine and bacteria

  8. Parasitic Symbiosis A Win-Lose Situation • Tapeworms and intestines • Ticks and dogs • Mistletoe and trees

  9. How are these mutually symbiotic? • Drivers and passengers in a carpool • Tenants and landlords

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