BSC 1005 Exam Review: Coral Reefs
with verified answers passed
In what ways are coral reefs extreme? - correct answer ✔✔-Extremely large
-Very diverse
-Can be very vulnerable to human activities
How are coral reefs important to humans? - correct answer ✔✔-Protects the coastlines
-Can shelter many organisms
-Contains material used for pharmaceuticals
What are the environmental requirements of corals, and how do they constrain the geographic
distribution of reefs built by corals? - correct answer ✔✔Sunlight, Clear Water, Warm water
temperature, Normal salinity, moderate wave action
Why can corals be considered part animal, part plant, and part rock? - correct answer ✔✔Rock-
Coral skeletons are solid calcium carbonate
Animal- Corals are related to sea anemones and jellyfish
Plant- Most coral food comes from zooxanthellae (self-producing) also are tiny single celled
organisms
What other animals are closely related to corals, and what are the characteristics they share? -
correct answer ✔✔Jellyfish and Anemones
Shared Characteristics: All Cnidarians, simple body, with a single opening surrounded by a ring
of tentacles, sack-like mouths, hydras nematocyst, stinging cells
, What are two ways in which reef-building corals acquire food, and what is the relative
importance of each of these food acquisition mechanisms to corals? - correct answer ✔✔1)
Filter feeding
2) Use tentacles to capture food
How does living as a colony influence patterns of growth and possibilities for overall shape? -
correct answer ✔✔Polyps coordinate to shape the corals into a way that is best for their species
What are the stages of the coral life cycle, both sexual and asexual? - correct answer ✔✔Sexual:
1) Sperm is released into the water
2) Sperm and egg meet
3) Eggs are sometimes released into the environment as well
How does species diversity on coral reefs compare with that of other ecosystems? - correct
answer ✔✔Coral reefs are much more diverse
How is information about the many tens of thousands of species that live on reefs organized so
we can readily retrieve it? - correct answer ✔✔There is a hierarchical system of categories that
is based on evolutionary relationships among organisms
What characteristics contribute to the most fundamental division of life into prokaryotes and
eukaryotes? - correct answer ✔✔Prokaryotes: Single celled, no nucleus, however still carry out
functions of life
Eukaryotes: Have a nucleus which contains DNA
What is the importance of the Cyanobacteria to coral reefs? - correct answer ✔✔-
Cyanobacteria is a type of "blue-green algae" meaning it is photosynthetic and aquatic
-Cyanobacteria helps generate oxygen through photosynthesis
with verified answers passed
In what ways are coral reefs extreme? - correct answer ✔✔-Extremely large
-Very diverse
-Can be very vulnerable to human activities
How are coral reefs important to humans? - correct answer ✔✔-Protects the coastlines
-Can shelter many organisms
-Contains material used for pharmaceuticals
What are the environmental requirements of corals, and how do they constrain the geographic
distribution of reefs built by corals? - correct answer ✔✔Sunlight, Clear Water, Warm water
temperature, Normal salinity, moderate wave action
Why can corals be considered part animal, part plant, and part rock? - correct answer ✔✔Rock-
Coral skeletons are solid calcium carbonate
Animal- Corals are related to sea anemones and jellyfish
Plant- Most coral food comes from zooxanthellae (self-producing) also are tiny single celled
organisms
What other animals are closely related to corals, and what are the characteristics they share? -
correct answer ✔✔Jellyfish and Anemones
Shared Characteristics: All Cnidarians, simple body, with a single opening surrounded by a ring
of tentacles, sack-like mouths, hydras nematocyst, stinging cells
, What are two ways in which reef-building corals acquire food, and what is the relative
importance of each of these food acquisition mechanisms to corals? - correct answer ✔✔1)
Filter feeding
2) Use tentacles to capture food
How does living as a colony influence patterns of growth and possibilities for overall shape? -
correct answer ✔✔Polyps coordinate to shape the corals into a way that is best for their species
What are the stages of the coral life cycle, both sexual and asexual? - correct answer ✔✔Sexual:
1) Sperm is released into the water
2) Sperm and egg meet
3) Eggs are sometimes released into the environment as well
How does species diversity on coral reefs compare with that of other ecosystems? - correct
answer ✔✔Coral reefs are much more diverse
How is information about the many tens of thousands of species that live on reefs organized so
we can readily retrieve it? - correct answer ✔✔There is a hierarchical system of categories that
is based on evolutionary relationships among organisms
What characteristics contribute to the most fundamental division of life into prokaryotes and
eukaryotes? - correct answer ✔✔Prokaryotes: Single celled, no nucleus, however still carry out
functions of life
Eukaryotes: Have a nucleus which contains DNA
What is the importance of the Cyanobacteria to coral reefs? - correct answer ✔✔-
Cyanobacteria is a type of "blue-green algae" meaning it is photosynthetic and aquatic
-Cyanobacteria helps generate oxygen through photosynthesis
