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Cards In This Set
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What is a coral?
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It's an animal which may live with a plant and makes a mineral-based skeleton
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What is the taxonomic classification (phylum, class, subclass, order) of stony corals?
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- phylum: cnidaria
- class: Anthozoa - subclass: Zoantharia - order: Scleractinia |
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What are Octocorallia?
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-polyps with 8 fold symmetry
- includes sea pen, sea fan, sea pansy, and sea whip - have an interior skeleton secreted by mesoglea and polyps with 8 tentacles and 8 mesentaries - lack stony skeletons |
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What are Hexacorallia?
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- having 6-fold symmetry in their body structure and only single rows of tentacles
- formed of individual soft polyps which in some live in colonies and can secrete a calcite skeleton |
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What is the difference between Octocorallia and Hexacorallia?
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-Hexacorallia can secret calcium carbonate, have an external skeleton, and include reefbuilding corals
- Octocorals can secrete calcium carbonate, have internal skeletons, and do not build reefs |
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What are coral polyps?
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Corals are small sea anemone-like polyps
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How is their body organized (symmetry, mouth, etc)?
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The individual organisms are radially symmetrical with tentacles surrounding a central mouth
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How are the individual poyps connected to each other within the coral colony?
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They form colonies of many genetically identical individuals that are interconnected by gastrovascular canals
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What is a corallite?
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The exoskeleton at the base of the polyp
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What are nematocysts?
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Stinging cells that the coral uses to trap prey. These cells are modified to capture and immobilize prey by injecting poison and firing very rapidly in response to contact.
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What are hermatypic corals?
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- produce reefs.
- found only in tropical regions - have small symbiotc algae called zooxanthellae in their tissue - zooxanthellae are critical for ref growth and development |
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What are ahermatypic corals?
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- don't form reefs
- are distributed worldwide - most dont have zooxanthellae |
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What is the difference between hermatypic and ahermatypic corals?
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- hermatypic make reefs, are only found in tropical reigons, have zooxanthellae
- ahermatypic don't form reefs, live pretty much everywhere, and mostly don't have zooxanthellae |
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What are zooxanthellae? What are dinoflagellates?
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- Zooxanthellae are single-celled algae
-provide the host with energy in the form of translocated reduced carbon compounds - provide up to 90% of a coral’s energy requirements - enables corals' success as reef-building organisms in tropical waters - Dinoflagellates are flagellate protists that are photosynthetic |
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What is mutualistic symbiosis?
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The way two organisms biologically interact where each individual derives a fitness benefit. Zooxanthellae get nutrients and protection while corals get oxygen, help w/ waste removal, and food
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