Coral Reefs 1 – Abiotic Factors

Vocabulary: Coral bleaching is a phenomenon where coral loses its color due to:

• a decrease in water temperature

• an increase in water temperature

• a decrease in sunlight

• an increase in salinity

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NGSS.MS-LS1-5

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Vocabulary: Define coral reef.

• A type of rock formation

• A marine ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals

• A type of seaweed

• A type of fish

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Vocabulary: A food web is a complex network of what?

• Interconnected food chains

• Single food chain

• Unrelated organisms

• Energy sources

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Vocabulary: Define grazer.

• A person who eats small amounts of food throughout the day

• An animal that feeds on grass

• A machine used for cutting grass

• A type of plant that grows in grasslands

Vocabulary: Ocean acidification is defined as:

• The increase in ocean temperature due to global warming.

• The decrease in pH levels of the ocean due to absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

• The rise in sea levels caused by melting ice caps.

• The increase in salinity of ocean water.

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NGSS.HS-ESS2-2

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Vocabulary: Define producer.

• An organism that makes its own food

• An organism that consumes other organisms

• A decomposer in the ecosystem

• A type of consumer

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Vocabulary: Zooxanthellae are:

• a type of bacteria

• a type of algae

• a type of fungus

• a type of virus

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

On the Gizmo look at the graph to the right, what does it show?

• Coral cover in Caribbean reefs declined from over 50% in 1977 to around 10% in 2012.

• Coral cover in Caribbean reefs increased from 10% in 1977 to over 50% in 2012.

• Coral cover in Caribbean reefs remained constant at 50% from 1977 to 2012.

• Coral cover in Caribbean reefs fluctuated between 10% and 50% from 1977 to 2012.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Why do you think Corals have declined since 1977

• Climate change and ocean acidification

• Increased tourism and pollution

• Overfishing and habitat destruction

• All of the above

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4

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Click advance years 10 times. Look carefully at the environment of the reef over time. Do you see any major changes?

• There are no major changes

• The populations are rapidly increasing.

• The populations are rapidly decreasing.

• The populations are fluctuating wildly.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4