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Sediments, salinity and pollution

Sediments, salinity and pollution. Fine sediment clouds H2O smothers coral Cuts down light for zooxanthellae Coral mucus can clean H2O (limited amount). sediments. Sediments, Salinity, and Pollution. Mining, logging, construction, dredging, increase sediments in H2O.

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Sediments, salinity and pollution

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  1. Sediments, salinity and pollution • Fine sediment clouds H2O smothers coral • Cuts down light for zooxanthellae • Coral mucus can clean H2O (limited amount)

  2. sediments

  3. Sediments, Salinity, and Pollution • Mining, logging, construction, dredging, increase sediments in H2O

  4. Sediments, Salinity and Pollution Pesticides, industrial wastes, agricultural wastes, and fertilizers increase algae which blocks light from zooxanthellae = eutrophication

  5. Water pollution

  6. Eutrophication algal bloom

  7. Satelite image of an algal bloom

  8. Sediments, Salinity and Pollution • Coral bleaching expels zooxanthellae

  9. Bleaching Coral

  10. Bleaching Coral

  11. Bleaching Coral

  12. Prebleach Postbleach Bleaching Coral

  13. Primary Producers of Coral Reef • Do photosynthesis to make food that feeds all other life- autotrophs Primary producers: 1. zooxanthellae 2. turf algae 3. Bacteria 4. coralline algae

  14. Turf algae

  15. Turf algae

  16. Cyanobacteria/bluegreen algae

  17. Coralline Algae

  18. Coralline Algae

  19. Hard Coral: competition • Fast growers grow up and spread out to catch light and block others • Attack other organisms with mesenterial filaments-digest them • “Sweeper tentacles” with nematocysts sting neighbors

  20. Plate Coral

  21. Plate Coral

  22. Coral stinging each other

  23. Soft coral competition • Soft corals-have sharp needle spicules to discourage predation • Can also move around some, slowly • Contain toxic (bad tasting) chemicals released into H2O can kill hard coral

  24. Soft Coral

  25. Soft Coral

  26. Soft Coral

  27. Two hypotheses about competition • Lottery hypothesis= feeding habits /life styles overlap and competition is strong. Survival is luck • Deterministic hypothesis= each organism has its own niche. Most accepted

  28. Definitions • Ecological niche= what a species eats where it lives, how it behaves and all other aspects of its lifestyle. “job” or role in a community • Competitive exclusion= one species out competes the other. No two species can occupy the same niche

  29. Predation on corals In what way is coral predation like plant grazing by herbivores? “predators” graze down the coral without killing it off entirely.

  30. The affect predation has on the number and type of coral • Fast growing corals are held in check by predation (butterfly-fish,coral-eating snails) • Crown-of-thorns sea star eats only certain corals

  31. Herbivores/grazers on the reef • Parrot fish • Damsel fish • Sea urchins • Surgeon fish • Snails • Crustaceans

  32. Parrot Fish

  33. “Grazing” Fish

  34. What if the herbivores/ grazers were removed? Grazers control algae growth • algae overgrows reef, kills coral If pollution is added (nutrients) algae grows explosively = eutrophication chokes out everything See eutrophication

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