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Coral
* All coral is made up of polyps, tiny animals that resemble upside-down jellyfish.
* All corals are fragile, and require a very specific aquatic environment in which to live
  - in the phylum Cnidaria , the same as jellyfish
  - begin as a single polyp
  - open up more, although there are some exceptions
* Many corals are soft on the inside but have a hard outer covering called an exoskeleton
  - very sensitve and are great water quality indicators
  - can survive and grow without eating, as long as the zooxanthellae have enough light
  - grow on the outer reef front but they also grow well in the lagoon
  - growing side by side and one on top of another, form a reef
* Many corals have different growth forms
  - zooxanthellae living within the tissues of the polyps
  - live in water that is already near their upper temperature limit
  - living together form a coral reef
  - usually recover from a short spell of bleaching
* Most coral is found in the Mediterranean Sea or in the Pacific off Japan and Taiwan.
* Most corals are colonial organisms
  - colonial, creating masses of cups fused together
  - colonies of many individual animals that share a common skeleton
  - examples of endosymbiotic relationships between themselves and photosynthetic algae
  - red, pink, white and blue
  - build large reefs that provide habitats for many other forms of life
  - depend on light
  - feed at night
  - go through a planktonic stage of life
  - grow on a hard substrate
* Most corals have a sting, harmless to humans, which can damage or even kill encroaching neighbors
  - different patterns
  - growth patterns
  - many different patterns
  - yellow polyp
  - host a number of facultative and obligate symbionts, especially crustaceans
  - prefer to grow in clear, warm tropical waters
  - require a hard substrate on which to establish
  - secrete a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate
* Some corals also consume very small fish
  - block sunlight
  - brood their eggs in the body of the polyp and release sperm into the water
  - contribute to growth
* Some corals depend on conditions
  - initial states
  - do thrive in silty environments and even feed on organic-rich sediment particles
  - even show preferences for certain types of zooplankton
  - exhibit mass spawning
  - harbor small algae cells in their tissues
  - have ability
  - live as separate individuals, others are colonial and form extensive reefs
* adapt and modify their environment by forming calcium carbonate skeletons
  - to closed systems better after they have been in our care for several years
* also absorb nutrients, including inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus, directly from water
  - acquire nutrients from feeding on a wide variety of zooplankton
  - are usually sessile and colonial
  - capture food
  - compete with each other for space and light
  - feed on small planktonic animals
* also have a symbiotic relationship with the green algae called zooxanthella
  - stinging cells which can cause irritation to sensitive skin
* also provide natural filtration of seawater for their neighbors
  - shelter for the crustaceans
  - reproduce sexually
  - require high light levels for photosynthesis
  - slough off large amounts of slimy mucus when stressed
  - use the mesenterial filaments to digest organic matter from the sediments
* are a group af animals that look like colourful underwater plants
  - member of the phylum cnidaria, which also includes jellyfish and anemones
  - able to colonise new environments through sexual reproduction
  - actually a result of a combination of plant and animal life
* are also at the base of the food chain and provide food for the rest of the reef community
  - sensitive to pollution of many kinds
  - under attack in other ways
  - among the most reproductively prolific marine organisms on earth
  - anatomically simple animals that belong to the phylum cnidaria
  - animals related to jellyfish and sea anemones
* are animals that allow tiny algae cells to grow in-between their two cell layers
  - have a symbiotic relationship with a microscopic algae called zooxanthellae
  - with their skeletons on the outside
  - animals, but they also have microscopic, single-celled plants living in their tissues
  - anthozoans, the largest class of organisms within the phylum Cnidaria
  - both animals and plants
  - calcium carbonated animals that live at the bottom of the ocean
* are colonial animals related to sea anemones
  - cnidarians
  - invertebrate marine animals whose skeletons help to build up reefs
  - colonial, and so the polyps communicate with one another
  - colonies of individual animals and plants which succeed through collaborative strategies
* are colonies of tiny animals which trap plankton for food
  - tiny, delicate animals called polyps
  - complex and poorly understood animals
  - delicate animals and chronic human disturbance can cause permanent damage
* are dependent on light , because the algae are important partners , and they require light
  - little photosynthetic microorganisms called zooxanthellae
  - epifaunal, sessile filter feeders
  - examples of colonies of zooids of the Hydra type
  - fragile living organisms that only grow a few inches a year or less
  - good predictors of mass extinction events
  - host to microscopic algal cells called zooxanthellae, which live within the coral tissue
  - hunters
  - in the phylum Cnidaria, the members of which have radial symmetry
  - invertebrates
  - large colonies of small animals called polyps
  - living animals
  - livings
* are located in oceans
* are marine animals living in ocean ecosystems around the world
  - members of the phylum Cnidaria, the same as jellyfish and sea anemones
  - naturally fragile in their build and are easily damaged by even a snorkel's fin
  - no different
  - one example of a foundation species in many islands in the South Pacific Ocean
  - part of lobsters
* are related to jellyfish, form large colonies, and have associated algal partners
  - sea anemones, and they all share the same simple structure, the polyp
  - sensitive to muddy waters
  - so pretty that some people make reef aquariums
  - special living animals that grow into fantastic shapes and sizes
  - still common, but less diverse
  - susceptible to diseases and bleaching
  - suspenision feeders
* are the 'building bricks' of the reef
  - second most productive ecosystem behind rainforests
  - skeletons of living animals
* are tiny animals, called polyps, that are related to and look like sea anemones
  - flower-like animals that live in colonies
  - plant-like animals that depend on clean, clear waters and sunlight to survive
  - tiny, soft-bodied organisms that thrive in large colonies in warm, shallow ocean waters
  - two fold
* are very delicate and depend upon water quality to thrive
  - efficient marine organisms that thrive in nutrient-poor environments
  - particular about where they build reefs
* attack each other with stinging cells in order to gain more territory.
* begins as an individual polyp the size of a pea
* belong to a group of animals that include sea anemones, jelly fish, and hydroids.
* belong to the class Anthozoa
  - same group of animals as anemones and sea jellies
* belongs in the same animal group as hydras, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
* bleach in Florida.
* bleach, or lose their bright colors, in water that is too warm.
* bleaching due to global warming is the most serious threat to coral reefs.
* build their hard skeletons from calcium carbonate, a mineral extracted from sea water
  - skeletons in annual rings, like tree rings
* can also adapt to fluctuating conditions
  - capture zooplankton as a food source by suspension feeding
  - die due to natural disasters
* can be either rock hard or soft
  - small solitary animals or large reef-building colonies
  - solitary or colonial
  - only live in shallow water, just below the ocean's surface
* can reproduce asexually and sexually
  - by at least five described strategies
  - both sexually and asexually
  - either sexually or asexually
* can survive a bleaching event, but they are under more stress and are subject to mortality
  - occasional short-term siltation events
* collection of small, individual coral animals called polyps.
* come in many shapes and sizes
  - various distinctive shapes and sizes
* compete for space in different ways
  - on the reef by using one of several methods to combat other corals
* continuously feed at night in correspondence to the vertical migration of plankton.
* depend on a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellate algae
* deposit calcium carbonate underneath the layers of tissue in species-specific patterns.
* develops as large colonies of individual animals.
* die faster off open tidal passes than protective islands.
* die, but reef remains.
* differ in their aggressive abilities.
* enable data on surface ocean conditions to be extended back beyond the instrumental record.
* exist in a symbiotic relationship with a. fungi
  - warm seas, at moderate depths with sufficient light
  - only in a very delicate balance of warm, clear water, sunshine and proper salt levels
* exists throughout the world's tropical oceans.
* expend more energy to create a fully developed planula.
* extend their tentacles to bring in food.
* feed in a variety of ways
  - mostly on plankton
  - on zooplankton, primarily at night
* flourish in nutrient-poor, clear, tropical waters.
* form an interesting mutualistic relationship with microscopic algae called zooxanthellae
  - fairy rings, so follow the circle
  - large colonies in shallow tropical water
  - the structural and ecological foundation of the reef system
* fringing the islands support some of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world.
* get their common name from how they look.
* grow and provide the framework for extension of the reef
  - at different rates
  - below algal ridge lagoon bottom make of rubble from algal ridge
  - best on the edge outside of the reef facing the open ocean
* grow in a wide variety of forms as the types here demonstrate
  - abundance, and colorful tropical fish swim in schools in the park under the water
  - warm shallow waters that receive plenty of light
  - mostly in tropical seas, and trees only on land
  - on rocky outcrops in some areas of the Gulf of California
* growing on a volcano likes to be near the surface, and it keeps growing to stay there.
* grows during the day when it is sunny.
* grows in the Indian Ocean according to the encyclopedia
  - shallow oceans surrounding the volcano
  - warm climates where there is clear salt water and sunlight
* hard, multicolored calcium skeleton secreted by certain marine lifeforms called polyps.
* hardened, living byproduct secreted by certain marine life.
* have a mutualistic relationship with algae
  - their zooxanthellae
  - rigid pecking order
  - skeleton of calcium carbonate which is easily fossilised
  - type of body form called a polyp
  - animal symbionts called zooanthellae
* have both asexual and sexual reproductive strategies
  - sexual and asexual reproduction
  - polyp structures similar to anemones but corals are usually colonial and much smaller
  - polyps also, as do most cnidarians at some point in their lives
  - still other ways of feeding themselves
  - tentacles covered with stinging cnematocysts that harpoon and paralyze their prey
  - the potential to help humans
  - two strategies for sexual reproduction- broadcast and brooding
* have very par- ticular requirements that determine where reefs develop
  - specific requirements for light, temperature, water clarity, salinity and oxygen
* heterogeneous cluster built in three phases.
* host a variety of other organisms.
* is abundant and cheap and can be harvested without environmental damage
  - actually a tiny living animal
  - alive in the Red Sea
* is also a lucrative international commodity
  - material that goldsmiths use with great success
  - at risk through pollution and the effects of tourism
* is an animal that grows in colonies in the ocean
  - ideal material to study as it forms yearly bands, much like the banding seen in trees
  - calcium carbonate with a trade of carotene
  - created by the action of sedentary species of cnidarians
  - described along with other organisms that live in the coral reef community
  - especially fragile
  - extremely sensitive to sediment
* is found in all the oceans of the world
  - shallow coastal areas
  - mainly in Japanese and Hawaiian waters and the Mediterranean
  - likely to keep pace with sea level rise
* is made of the exoskeletons of many thousands of tiny marine animals called polyps
  - up of small animals called polyps which live in symbiosis with tiny algae
  - mined and burned to produce lime and cement
  - neither a stone nor a plant substance, but the skeletal remains of a sea creature
  - plentiful the fish life is restricted to small but plentiful tropicals
  - razor sharp and any cut can quickly become badly infected
  - soft under water, and hardned by the air
* is the calcareous skeletons of marine animals
  - calcite shell of the coral animal
  - color of the new millennium
  - egg mass of a female lobster
  - prefered color to the butterflies
  - stony skeletal structure left behind when certain marine plants and animals die
  - very ensitive to changes in the environment which can lead to destruction
  - what became of the archaic information network known as the Web
* leave daily growth rings in their skeleton, similar to trees.
* live at the uppermost boundary of their temperature tolerance
  - attached to the seafloor, especially in shallow, tropical seas
  - best in clear waters with low nutrients
* live in colonies consisting of many individuals, each of which is called a polyp
  - in shallow water in the tropics
  - warm oceans
  - mainly where the seas are warm and shallow
* lives a symbiotic life.
* living structure that regenerates as erosion reduces it to dust.
* microscopic marine animal that lives together in colonies for protection.
* national treasure in the archipelago.
* needs ample oxygen and light to grow
  - warm, shallow tropical water and often grows near to the surface
* normally live in symbiosis with algal plants, but warm temperatures upset the relationship.
* nourish themselves in a remarkable number of ways.
* occupy a very important role in the oceans.
* occur for the first time in Ordovician rocks.
* often contain photosynthetic symbionts and live in shallow waters where light penetrates.
* only grow by two centimetres a year.
* performs a similar function in the ocean.
* predominantly reproduce sexually.
* produce a natural weedkiller
  - mucus which serves as food and forms an important input in the detrital food web
  - the reef structures on which countless other organisms, including human beings, live
* protect against tsunamis.
* provide shelter and nutrients for the algae.
* provides a place for a very rich community of algae that are the basis for the community
  - age of deep water
  - food and shelter for many of the oceans creatures
  - way to age deep water
* push their biochemical pathways to the limit.
* receive coloration from the photosynthetic pigments of zooxanthallae.
* reefs the thrive and grow best in high energy surf.
* rely on water currents to provide food and oxygen as well as removal of waste.
* remove and recycle and carbon dioxide
  - minerals from ocean water to build enormous colonial skeletons
* reproduce asexually by budding or fragmentation
  - in several different ways
  - sexually, often in mass spawning events
* require clear water of low nutrient status
  - clear, clean, nutrient-free waters to thrive
  - years to grow and colonize a small portion of a reef
* respond to both natural changes in the marine environment and to anthropogenic pollution.
* secrete a hard covering around their bodies for protection
  - colorful pigments to warn predators that they are poisonous
* seem to absorb water more than other mushrooms.
* signifies the red sands of the desert.
* simply release eggs and sperm into the water.
* spawn at about the same time during the night a couple of days after the full moon.
* spend the majority of their life as a polyp, and jellyfish as a medusa.
* store their food in the form of fat and glycogen.
* strives to transform the whole ocean into coral islands.
* takes thousands of years to grow but only seconds to destroy.
* thrive as long as temperatures remain at or below certain temperatures for a given site.
* tilt seaward, preventing sediment accumulation on flat coral surfaces.
* use a variety of methods to obtain their food
  - several different methods of asexual reproduction
  - tentacles to ensnare their food
  - the nematocysts to defend themselves and to capture prey
  - their tentacles to capture prey
* usually are less than three feet long.
* weakened by bleaching are more vulnerable to storms, predators, and disease.
+ Algae, Life style, Symbiosis
  * Less well known are the algal relationships with animals. Reef-building corals are basically social Cnidarian polyps. Corals are dependent on light, because the algae are important partners, and they require light. Corals have evolved structures, often tree-like, which offer the algae maximum access to light. The corals' waste-products provide nutrients for the algae so, as with lichen, both partners gain from the association. The algae are golden-brown flagellate algae, often of the genus 'Symbiodinium'. A curious feature of the partnership is that the coral may eject the algae in hard times, and regain them later.
+ Atoll
  * Charles Darwin, who is most famous for his theory of evolution, was the first person to find out how atolls form. He said that volcanoes in the ocean sometimes wear away or sink deeper. Coral growing on a volcano likes to be near the surface, and it keeps growing to stay there.