Great Barrier Reef
Transcript: Located in the Coral Sea, off of the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef-Isla Convoy at the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula down to the Bay Islands of Honduras The New Caledonia Barrier Reef—new caledonia south pacific The Andros, Bahamas Barrier Reef— following the east coast of Andros Island, Bahamas, between Andros and Nassau The Red Sea—coastline a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia 68 Degrees in the winter, and up to 90 degrees in the summer 3.5% average salt concentration Nutrients- phosphorus & nitrogen kelp is becoming over abundant which can overrun coral eventually this will make the water less clear then it will kill the algae that grows on the coral and animals that live in the coral will slowly die because of not having enough nutrients The depth can range from 30-120 feet. Most of the nutrients entering the Great Barrier Reef comes from catchments in major pastoral areas like the Burdekin, Herbert and Fitzroy Rivers. Coastal catchments that provide a continuous flow of freshwater to the Reef from small catchments that support farming like the Tully River and Pioneer River Large catchments that drain large inland grazing areas and tend to be seasonal and influenced by flooding like the Fitzroy River. water in the great barrier reef is standing and flowing. nutrients circulate from floods and other different natural things By 2050, 95% of the coral could be gone. Coral reefs are fragile , they can die in temperature change and coral bleaching. Tourism also hurts the reefs. But for now it is the fastest growing and contains a lot of life. The reef serves as a protective habitat for many other forms of marine life. The outer edge of the reef receives the full force of breaking waves, protecting the inner Australian shore. The space between the shoreline and the inner edge of the reef acts as a kind of nursery for growing fish and other marine life. Also, the calcium carbonate in coral helps maintain the pH balance in the ocean needed to have life. Another thing is, medicine has also made important discoveries within coral reefs. Some hard coral is being experimented with as a possible bone replacement, and treatments for diseases such as cancer, AIDS, asthma, arthritis, and various infections have been developed from organisms in coral reefs. boat, fish, sail, dive, snorkel and swim Coral is a useful product Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) Habitat- bays and estuaries food chain- they are towards the top Biotic- boats, destruction of habitat, pollution Abiotic- sand, temperature, natural disasters Predators- whale, etc. Prey- different fish and algae Spinner Dolphin (Stenella Longirostris) Habitat- deep ocean Food chain- top of their food chain Biotic-smooth skin, human interaction, food Abiotic- water temp., surrounding environment, natural disasters Predators- sharks Prey- fish, jellyfish, squid, krill, etc. Dugongs (Dugon dugon) Habitat- shallow coastal waters Food Chain- in the middle Biotic- big, heavy, food Abiotic- population, slow moving, disasters of their habitat Predators- Killer whales, crocodiles, etc. Prey- seagrass Seagrass (Posidonisceae) Biotic- nutrients, sand, animals Abiotic- water current, temperature, light Coralline Algae (Corallina officinalis) Biotic- animals, nutrients, coral Abiotic- nutrients, water, temperature Sources 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrier_Reef - location 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef -major locations around world 3. http://www.great-barrier-reef.com/great-barrier-reef-weather.html - average temp. 4. http://toursholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Great-Barrier-Reef-coral-outside.jpg -coral reef outside pic 5. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/GreatBarrierReef-EO.JPG/230px-GreatBarrierReef-EO.JPG -sky pic 6. http://earthfirstnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/great_barrier_reef_biodiversity.jpg -fish pic 7. http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/microsites/biodiscovery/01environments/marine-habitats.html - salt concentration 8. http://sitemaker.umich.edu/gc2sec7labgroup3/pollution -nutrients 9. http://apbiogreatbarrierreef.wikispaces.com/Limiting+Factors –limiting nutrients 10. http://www.padi.com/scuba/scuba-diving-trips/scuba-diving-resort-vacations/australia-great-barrier-reef/ -water depth 11. http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/outlook-for-the-reef/declining-water-quality -drainage 12. http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1117-corals.html -structure and growth 13. http://terrax.org/teacher/lessons/australia/reef/reeffacts.aspx -environmental values 14. http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/006/cache/ridley-sea-turtle_688_600x450.jpg -turtle pic 15. http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/explore/images/AC_Spinner.jpg dolphin pic 16. http://earthtrust.org/wlcurric/dolphins.html -dolphin factors 17. http://www.spiderscore.com/images/Dugong2.jpg -dugong pic 18.