Benthic Communities living along the bottom of the ocean.
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Transcript of Benthic Communities living along the bottom of the ocean.
Benthic Communities
living along the
bottom of the ocean
Benthic Communities
living along the
bottom of the ocean
Benthic Communities
• Rocky Intertidal Zones
• Coral Reefs
Rocky Intertidal Zones
Rocky Intertidal ZonesHard places to live
• Drying out during low tide– Close shells, move to moist areas
• Wave Shock– Have holdfasts, cement, tube feet
• Lack of space to hold on– competition
• Rapid changes in temperature & salinity– Close shells or be able to withstand it
Table 15.1
Coral Reefs
• Corals– Are animals (Cnidarians)– Small (ant-sized) polyps live in large colonies– Hermatypic corals secret a calcium carbonate
skeleton…the reef
Coral Reefs
• Zooxanthellae– Dinoflagellate that lives within the coral polyp– A mutualism– Algae provide food, speeds up calcium
carbonate deposition & get nutrients in return
Coral Reefs
• Hermatypic Coral’s ideal habitat is 5-10 m (16-33 ft) depth & temperatures warmer than 18-21oC (64-70oF)
Fig. 14-12, p. 294
Coral Reefs
• Reefs support a large diversity of other organisms– Home to 25% of the world’s marine species
Symbiosis
• the co-occurrence of two species in which the life of one is closely tied with the life of another
Symbiosis
• Three types– mutualism (++)
• Anemone fish, cleaner shrimp or wrasse, zooxanthellae
– commensalism (+0)• pea crabs, remoras & shark, whale barnacles
– parasitism (+-)• isopods, roundworms, etc.
Figure 14.15b
Figure 10 p.221
Figure 14.15a
Figure 14.15c