Coral Reefs
The Rain Forest of the Sea
Description
Biotic/Abiotic factors
Abiotic factor- non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems
There are many of these factors in this ecosystem. Here are some examples:
Biotic- Squid, crab, seaweed, algae, coral and shrimp
Abiotic- Sand, oxygen, light, water and temperature
A Fish in a Coral Reef (biotic)
Seaweed is a biotic factor
Shrimp are a biotic factor
Producer, Consumer, or Decomposer?
Consumer- an organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals
Decomposer- an organism, usually a bacterium or fungus, that breaks down the cells of dead plants and animals into simpler substances
Here are some examples of these essential parts of an ecosystem:
Producer- blue green algae, sea grass, brown algae, phytoplankton, and zooxanthelle
Consumers- sponges, trigger fish, lobsters, sea turtles, and reef sharks
Decomposers- fan worms, sea cucumbers, snails, crabs, and bacteria
Relationships in Ecosystems
Cooperation- 1) Mutually beneficial interaction among organisms living in a limited area 2) Remoras or "sucker fish" stick onto manta rays who provide the remoras with safety. They clean when on the manta rays.
Competition- 1) An interaction between two (or more) organisms (or species), in which, for each, the birth and/or growth rates are depressed and/or the death rate increased by the other organisms 2) Macroalgea and coral competes for space in coral reefs.
Parasitism- 1) A relationship between two things in which one of them (the parasite) benefits from or lives off of the other 2) An example of this is the monogenea which attaches itself to fiddlier rays.
Mutualism- 1) The way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other 2) An example of this is when the orange coral crab feeds of of coral while protecting the coral from other animals.
This is an Orange Coral Crab
Ramora and Stingray
Fiddlier Ray
Cycles in the Coral Reefs
Carbon Cycle- Carbon in the atmosphere comes to the seaweed and algae through photosynthesis. The water actually absorbs the carbon ,but when to much, acidification occurs. This causes corals to build up incorrectly.
Nitrogen Cycle- Nitrogen gas is in the air but through bacteria (decomposer) it gets into the sand. The coral and seaweed take in this sand and the producers later get eaten by fish. The fish's waste falls onto the ocean floor onto the sand where nitrogen is returned. The cycle will start again.
Sited Sources
- www.haikudeck.com
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
- https://sites.google.com/site/coralreefpd5/home/biotic-and-abi
- http://www.soul-guidance.com/health/seaweed.htm
- http://study.com/academy/lesson/ecology-producer-definition-lesson-quiz.html
- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/decomposer
- https://www.google.com/search?q
- http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/
- http://www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/great_barrier_reef/crab.htm
- http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00006310
- https://prezi.com/e6dbzamb-6na/great-barrier-reef-in-australia/
- http://reefkeeping.com/