The Great Barrier Reef
Learn About the Wonders Below The Pacific
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is located in Australia, and it is actually thousands of coral reefs all together-if that gives you a picture of how big it is.
About The Great Barrier Reef
In the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland Australia, the average temperature is 30 degrees Celsius which is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The depth of the coral reef is an average of 35 meters in inshore waters, and more than 2000 meters in outer reefs. It has tons of plant life and unique features. It is home to over 7,131 different species underwater, and it is the biggest coral reef in the world.
Some of the Organisms Living In the Reef
Sea grass
Sea Grass is a producer, it provides food for a lot of organisms in the ocean. A producer is something that gets its energy from the sun. It is a plant. Some other producers in the coral reef are mangroves, algae, plankton, cope pods, seaweeds, and mainly coral.
Sea Turtle
The Sea Turtle is also an important part of the coral reef. It is a secondary consumer. A secondary consumer is something that eats other living organisms, but is not at the top of the food chain. Some other secondary consumers are larger reef fish, sea sponges, etc.
Lobster
The Lobster is big part of the Great Barrier Reef, because it is something called a decomposer. A decomposer is something that decomposes organic material, and in this case, it is on the ocean floor. Some other decomposers in the coral reef are crabs, sea cucumber, some snails, bristle worms, etc.
Competition in the Great Barrier Reef
What Are Some Animals Competing for In the Great Barrier Reef?
Dolphins and sharks are competing for food-which is fish, because there are tons of dolphins and sharks, and they want all of it to themselves. Sharks are competing each other for mating opportunities, along with barracuda, fish, dolphins, etc. Also, competing for space are fish, sharks, dolphins, turtles, etc. Lastly, the organisms competing for shelter are fish, sharks, jellyfish, starfish, turtles, etc. Because they all live in the Great Barrier Reef and there is only so much space for that many animals.
Adaptations
Adaptation means to adapt to new things, to become more comfortable to them. One animal that has adapted in my ecosystem is the Sea Turtle. Its behavioral adaptation are they all gather together to mate and then go to the hatching grounds. Also, its instinctual adaptations, are when danger comes, they hide in their protective shells. Lastly, its structural adaptation is its shell because it protects them from predators. Another animal that has adapted is the manta ray. Its has structurally adapted because their mouth is on the front of their body so they can eat crustaceans. They are behaviorally adapted because of the way they swim depends on where they are. And lastly, their instinctual adaptation is where they hide from predators on the sea ground. Also, one of my animals in my ecosystem is the Jellyfish. Its structural adaptation is its stingers to sting its prey. Its behavioral adaptation is when they swarm underwater when it is the right temperature, current, and ambient oxygen. And their instinctual adaptation is that they do not even have a brain. They just have a loose network of nerves which form a nerve net which can detect the touch of another organism. Lastly is the Reef Shark. The Reef Sharks Structural Adaptation is they have a white bottom and a dark top to sneak up on prey. Their behavioral adaptation is when they migrate so they can meet their needs. And lastly, their instinctual adaptation is that they can detect electrical fields, and they have their eggs on the insides of them.
For Coral Reef Levels Of Organization-Click Here
Here are the pictures that describe the levels of organization in the Great Barrier Reef.
Harmful and Benificial Meanings
Harmful- Causing or likely to cause damage
Beneficial- Favorable or advantages, resulting in good
Harmful/Beneficial Activities in Coral Reef-Click Here
Here are the tings that cause harmful and beneficial activities in my ecosystem.
THE CROWN OF THORNS STARFISH
The Crown Of Thorns Starfish is a huge threat to the Great Barrier Reef. It is a threat because they are eating away at the coral. The Crown Of Thorns Starfish can reach over half a meter long, with five inch spikes on it. Their outbreaks can occur during high nutrients, they can destroy at least 5 miles of coral each year. A possible solution, says Nick Heath, who is an Australian Spokesman for the Great Barrier Reef, that a certain chemical fertilizer to keep control of the starfish can be used, and it has not even been used yet. The fertilizer will cost a lot of money, though it is being used for a good solution. The fertilizer will cause only some of the star fish to die, so they do not go extinct. Here is my source, http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151544/
Coral Reef Food Chain
What Is It?
A food web shows the flow of energy threw an ecosystem. This an example of some of the animals in the Great Barrier Reefs food web. It has animals on it like the sea turtle, the sea snail, the barracuda, the sea sponge, fish, algae, plankton, cope pods, jellyfish, sharks, large snappers, larger reef fish, and the reef shark. The producers in the ecosystem are the algae, the cope pods, and the plankton. The primary consumers are the fish, and the snail. The secondary consumers are the turtle, the sea sponge, the jellyfish, the large snapper, and the large reef fish. Lastly, the tertiary consumers in my food web, are the shark, and the barracuda.