Sunday, November 9, 2008

Bahamian Reef Survey Story "How Did It All Begin"

marbio_bahamianreefsurvey.pdf

1 comment:

elli.j. said...

Hi Ms. Haverluk,
This is my homework,I read in the PDF file to get the answers.

In the late 1980s, when a major
coral bleaching event occurred
throughout the world, McGrath
witnessed its dramatic and sudden
effects first hand.
. Each coral animal, or polyp, has a clear, sac-like body and a
ring of tentacles surrounding its mouth. The most commonly recognized corals are the
hard corals.The
long hours they spend snorkeling
along transects and inspecting
tide pools yield fundamental data
about coral reefs.
Within each coral
polyp’s body are mutualistic algae called
zooxanthellae.
They reasoned that
the temperatures caused thermal stress
while the calm water let excessive ultraviolet
radiation reach the corals..
Researchers also note the rising incidence
of coral diseases and wonder whether
pathogens (viruses or bacteria that cause
disease) play a role.
Algae
overgrow the reef and prevent new coral
polyps from establishing colonies.
For
example, they have volunteers toss a large
plastic frame with a grid of criss-crossed
string onto the reef to collect data for
point intercept and quadrat analyses.