Coral ecology ppt

1. 1. ECOLOGY OF CORAL REEFS VIJAYKUMAR, M.E, Jitendra Kumar I PhD, Dept. of

FRM [email protected]
2. 2. Coral reefs are wave- resistant structures notable for their great species
richness, ecological complexity and remarkable beauty They are unique in being
formed entirely by the biological activity [email protected]
3. 3.  Often called rain forests of the sea, due to their richest biodiversity. They
occupy less than 0.1% of the world’s ocean surface, but provide home for 25% of
marine species [email protected]
4. 4. ORIGIN OF REEFS  Subsidence theory – (Darwin-Dana)  Solution theory –
(Semper-Murray)  Submerged bank theory  Glacial epoch theory - Daly
[email protected]
5. 5. [email protected]
6. 6. It involves understanding biotic and abiotic factors influencing the distribution
and abundance of living things of coral community [email protected]
7. 7. DISTRIBUTION  Corals occur throughout the oceans, but colonial reef-building
(hermatypic) corals are confined to the tropics and sub-tropics where calcification
rates are greatly enhanced  Reefs grow best in warm, marine, shallow, clear,
sunny and agitated waters [email protected]
8. 8. LIMITING FACTORS  Latitude  Temperature  Light  Salinity  Turbidity &
Sedimentation  Wave action  Aerial exposure [email protected]
9. 9.  Coral reefs, just like any other ecosystem on our planet, rely on a variety of
biotic and abiotic factors to keep them healthy and functional.  Without stable
temperature, pH, light intensity, water flow, salinity, and chemical composition of
sea water, coral reefs could not exist, but without a stable trophic cascade, coral
reefs could not survive. [email protected]
10. 10. Biotic Factors • Competitors • Disease • Predators • Food availability •
Habitat availability • Symbiotic relationships Abiotic Factors • pH • Temperature
• Weather conditions • Water availability • Chemical composition of environment
• nitrates, phosphates, ammonia, O2, pollution [email protected]
11. 11. TYPES OF CORALS  Hard corals, also known as scleractinian and stony coral,
produce a rigid skeleton made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in crystal form
called aragonite. Anatomic structures such as septa, tentacles, and mesenteries
are found in sets of six, so hard corals are also often termed hexa corals.
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12. 12.  One of the characteristic feature of hermatypic corals is the presence of
unicellular algae (Symbiodinium microadriaticum) with in the gastrodermal
tissue.  By their influence on coral growth and calcification rates these
symbiotic zooxanthellae play a fundamental role in the reef-building process
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13. 13. HARD CORALS Brain coral Stag horn coral Foliose coral
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14. 14. MORPHOLOGICAL TYPES OF HARD CORALS Anatomy and Growth
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15. 15. SOFT CORALS Soft coral, also known as Alcyonacea and ahermatypic coral,
do not produce a rigid calcium carbonate skeleton and do not form reefs, though
they may be present in a reef ecosystem. Anatomic structures such as tentacles
and mesenteries are found in sets of eight, so soft corals are often called
octocorals. [email protected]
16. 16. DIVERSITY OF CORAL REEFS  Reefs are home to a large variety of
organisms, including fish, seabirds, sponges, cnidarians (which includes some
 types of corals and jellyfish), worms, crustaceans (including shrimp, cleaner
shrimp, spinylobsters and crabs), mollusks (including cephalopods), echinoderms
(including starfish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers), sea squirts, sea turtles and
sea snakes.  Aside from humans, mammals are rare on coral reefs, with visiting
cetaceans such as dolphins being the main exception.  A few of these varied
species fed directly on corals, while others graze on algae on the reef.  Reef
biomass is positively related to species diversity. [email protected]
17. 17. CORAL REEF COMMUNITIES [email protected]
18. 18. NUTRITION  Corals have developed several unique ways of feeding; they
receive nutrients from symbiotic algae, capture particles such as plankton, and
take up dissolved substances from the water. [email protected]
19. 19.  In order to fully appreciate the importance of a balanced ecosystem such
as a coral reef, we must first understand its trophic structure; the organisms that
make up each trophic level, and the functions of each level in the maintenance of
a healthy reef. [email protected]
20. 20. TROPHIC STRUCTURE  Coral reefs are complex ecosystems that require a
balanced trophic structure to function properly and efficiently.  Imbalances can
occur in this intricate trophic cascade from the top down or the bottom up. For an
example of bottom-up effects, nutrient-rich agricultural run-off can cause a
massive increase in primary productivity (e.g. algal blooms), the effects of which
often cannot be buffered by consumers fast enough to prevent a coral reef
ecosystem from collapsing. [email protected]
21. 21.  There are three categories of organisms in every ecosystem: producers,
consumers, and decomposers.  Primary consumers are herbivorous, whereas
secondary consumers prey on herbivores and tertiary consumers eat other
carnivores.  Decomposers are responsible for breaking down dead and
decaying plant and animal matter into components that are once again usable
for growth by producers.  None of these three categories of organisms can exist
without the others in order to complete the cycle of production, consumption,
and decomposition. [email protected]
22. 22. PRIMARY PRODUCERS OF CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM  zooxanthellae in corals
 filamentous algal scum (turf algae)  coralline (calcareous) algae  non-
coralline seaweed  filamentous algae growing through the upper layers of the
porous reef rock (endolithic algae)  benthic and interstitial diatoms 
phytoplankton [email protected]
23. 23. Tuft algae Zoo xanthellae Coralline red algae Crustose coralline red algae
[email protected]
24. 24. BENTHIC SEAWEEDS [email protected]
25. 25. BENTHIC DIATOMS [email protected]
26. 26. PHYTOPLANKTON [email protected]
27. 27. HERBIVORES  herbivorous fish  most parrotfish  surgeonfish
[email protected]
28. 28.  Pacific Gregory (Stegastes fasciolatus)  tidepool blennies
[email protected]
29. 29.  herbivorous snails and sea hares  most sea urchins  herbivorous crabs 
green sea turtles Chiton Tiger cowrie [email protected]
30. 30. [email protected]
31. 31. NATURAL CAPITAL: SOME COMPONENTS AND INTERACTIONS IN A CORAL
REEF ECOSYSTEM [email protected]
32. 32.  Consumers  - primary consumers  Phytoplankton and other single-celled
primary producers are eaten by primary consumers.  Due to the large
community of primary consumers on coral reefs, phytoplankton levels in coral
 reef waters can be 15-65% lower than in adjacent open ocean waters.  Benthic
grazers and some coral species feed by filtering phytoplankton out of the water
while other vertebrate and invertebrate grazers eat algae and seaweed; many
species of parrotfish, surgeonfish and blennies have a diet that consists entirely
of coralline, filamentous, and calciferous algae. [email protected]
33. 33.  Secondary consumers  The animals in this trophic level feed on primary
consumers and are consequently carnivorous. Secondary consumers in a reef
ecosystem can be divided into four main groups: (1) zoo plankton feeders, (2)
corallivores - organisms that feed on coral tissue, (3) feeders on other benthic
invertebrates, and (4) piscivores - fish eaters.  Plankton feeders can be small
sessile invertebrates like barnacles, corals like sun polyps (Tubastrea sp.) and
gorgonians, small damselfish or 15-ton whale sharks. [email protected]
34. 34.  Corallivores can be sub-divided into polyp eaters, coral scrapers, mucus
feeders etc.  Many species of butterfly fish, damselfish specialize in eating coral
polyps  Some common coral scrapers are specific species of triggerfish,
parrotfish, blennies, puffers, and butterfly fish.  Some animals that feed on coral
mucus are coral guard crabs and shrimps [email protected]
35. 35.  Benthic invertebrates like mollusks, gastropods, worms, and crustaceans
are eaten by many kinds of fish (e.g. goatfish, wrasses, triggerfish, etc.) and
other larger invertebrates  Piscivores are carnivores that eat fish; many species
of fish are piscivores as well as some mollusks and arthropods.
[email protected]
36. 36.  Tertiary (top) consumers  Tertiary consumers are large reef fish at the top
of the food chain that eat many smaller fish. Some examples of top consumers in
a coral reef ecosystem are sharks, barracudas, and moray eels. Marine mammals
such as dolphins and seals, and sea birds, if present, are considered tertiary
consumers, too. [email protected]
37. 37.  Decomposers (and Detritivores)  Decomposers serve an extremely
important function in all ecosystems; they break down dead biological matter
and waste products and convert them into usable energy while returning
important materials to the environment.  The main decomposers in coral reefs
are bacteria; these bacteria play an integral part in the nitrogen cycle whereby
ammonia (NH4) is converted into nitrite (NO2) by bacteria in the genus
Nitrosomonas, after which nitrite is then converted into nitrate (NO3) by bacteria
in the genus Nitrobacter.  The ultimate result is that levels of toxic wastes are
kept very low and that waste products are converted into components that are
available to producers in a readily- usable form. [email protected]
38. 38.  Coral reefs are complex ecosystems that require a balanced trophic
structure to function properly and efficiently.  Imbalances can occur in this
intricate trophic cascade from the top down or the bottom up. For an example of
bottom-up effects, nutrient- rich agricultural run-off can cause a massive increase
in primary productivity (e.g. algal blooms), the effects of which often cannot be
buffered by consumers fast enough to prevent a coral reef ecosystem from
collapsing. [email protected]
39. 39. [email protected]
40. 40. PRODUCTIVITY OF CORAL REEFS  The symbiotic arrangement between the
algae and corals results in nutrients being tightly recycled with in coral reefs.
This internal nutrient cycling is of primary importance in maintaining the
productivity of the reef  The gross primary productivity ranges from about 1500
to 5000 g.C/m2/year, values much higher than those of open tropical Oceans
[email protected]
 41. 41. INTERNAL NUTRIENT RECYCLING How can such rich community grow when
the surrounding sea is unproductive? [email protected]
42. 42. IMPORTANCE OF CORAL REEFS Protection from coastal erosion Very high
diversity = ecological stability Source of important natural chemicals being
researched as cures for cancer, arthritis, human infections, viruses, etc Reef
fisheries Tourism [email protected]
43. 43. THREATS TO CORAL REEFS  There are two types of threats to coral reefs,
anthropogenic and natural  Destructive and non-sustainable fishery practices 
Coral bleaching – socio economic impacts, reef based tourism and fisheries 
Coral mining – construction, lime industry, ornamental purposes  Pollution –
agriculture, coastal development  Sedimentation - deforestation
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44. 44. CORAL BLEACHING Coral bleaching occurs when symbiotic zooxanthellae
algae is removed or expelled Associated with high water temperatures
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45. 45.  Diseases – Black band, white band and red band diseases were observed in
corals especially in shallow areas  In addition to the direct human interferences,
global climate change poses serious threat – increase in temperature, and a
possible increase in the incidence of storms [email protected]
46. 46.  Reefs are subjected to physical-erosion and bio- erosion  Physical erosion
– intense wave action, currents, tropical storms  Bio erosion  Removal of large
no. of animals from reefs may alter the ecology  Sea urchins graze up on the
coral frame work ( fish, molluscs are over fished) [email protected]
47. 47.  Crown of thorns star fish – Acanthaster planci ( triton snail) Destruction of
Great Barrier Reef  Others  As building material – Maldive islands  For
ornamental purposes  Destructive fishing methods – dynamite, sodium cyanide
 Anchoring – Reefs of Florida [email protected]
48. 48.  Walking over the reef during low tide  Mangrove deforestation – Gulf of
Kutch [email protected]
49. 49. [email protected]
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…Plants and animals associates of living reef corals

1. 1. Plants and Animals Associates with Coral Reef Presented to Dr. S.R. Somashekara Associate
Professor Dept. of Fisheries Resources and Management [email protected]
2. 2. [email protected]
3. 3. Associated Plants and Animals Both living corals and their skeletons provide wonderful
microhabitat for many other organisms. [email protected]
4. 4. Coral reefs contain the most diverse fish assemblages to be found anywhere on earth, as 6,000-
8,000 species that can be found dwelling within coral reef ecosystems of the world's oceans
[email protected]
5. 5. Diversity of Coral reefs • Reefs are home to a large variety of organisms, including • Fish, •
Seabirds, • Sponges, • Cnidarians (which includes some types of corals and jellyfish), • Worms, •
Crustaceans (including shrimp, cleaner shrimp, spiny lobsters and crabs), • Mollusks (including
cephalopods), • Echinoderms (including starfish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers), • Sea turtles and
• Sea snakes. • Plants etc.. [email protected]
6. 6. • Coral reefs are essential spawning, nursery, breeding, and feeding grounds for numerous
organisms. • Coral reefs support more than 800 hard coral species and more than 4,000 species of
fish. • Over 25 percent of the world's fish biodiversity, and between nine and 12 percent of the
world's total fisheries, are associated with coral reefs • By one estimate, biodiversity value
accounts for $5.5 billion of the total estimated annual global net benefit of coral reefs.
[email protected]
7. 7. Two major groups of animals inhabit coral reefs: • Animals with backbones (called vertebrates)
and those • Without these structures (called invertebrates). [email protected]
8. 8. Vertebrate Coral Reef Animals Among vertebrate animals, only a relative few groups contain
species that are regularly found within coral reef communities. These are: • Fishes • Sea Snakes •
Sea Turtles • Dugongs etc.. [email protected]
9. 9. Fishes Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Habitat: They
are home to 33% of all known fish species. Nursery: And a nursery ground for over 25% of all
marine species. Protection: they protect 20% of the world’s coast from wave erosion.
[email protected]
10. 10. [email protected]
11. 11. Reef fish adaptations Colouration Most reef fishes have body shapes that are different from
open water fishes. Open water fish are usually built for speed in the open sea, streamlined like
torpedoes to minimise friction as they move through the water. Coral reef fishes exhibit a huge
variety of dazzling and sometimes bizarre colours and patterns. This is in marked contrasts to
open water fishes which are usually counter shaded with silvery colours. Body Shapes
[email protected]
12. 12. Feeding strategies Many reef fish species have evolved different feeding strategies- -specialized
mouths, jaws and teeth particularly suited to deal with their primary food sources found in coral
reef ecosystems. Some species even shift their dietary habits and distributions as they mature.
Generalized carnivores Specialised carnivores [email protected]
13. 13. Herbivores Herbivores feed on plants. The largest groups of coral reef fishes that feed on plants
are the parrotfishes, rabbitfishes, and surgeonfishes. All feed primarily on microscopic and
macroscopic algae growing on or near coral reefs. [email protected]
14. 14. Symbiosis Symbiosis refers to two species that have a close relationship with each other. The
relationship can be mutualistic, when both species benefit from the relationship, commensalistic,
when one species benefits and the other is unaffected, and parasitistic, when one species benefits,
and the other is harmed. [email protected]
15. 15. Sea Snakes • There are between 55-65 recognized species of sea snakes, but of these only a
relative few are commonly found in coral reef areas. • Sea snakes are found only in the Indo-Pacific
region [email protected]
16. 16. Sea Turtles • Of the seven recognized species of sea turtles, three are regular or occasional
visitors to coral reefs in some parts of the world. • The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) also
frequents coral reef ecosystems of both the Greater Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions. • This
species feeds primarily on the seagrasses found in protected back reef lagoons.
[email protected]
17. 17. Dugongs • These peaceful giants - related to elephants - consume prodigious quantities of
seagrasses, and • most prolific herbivores in coral reef lagoons • prior to recent levels of human
interference with these ecosystems. • It is feared that they may soon become extinct.
[email protected]
18. 18. Invertebrate Coral Reef Animals • Sponges • Echinoderms • Mollusks • Crustaceans •
Polychaetes [email protected]
19. 19. Sponges • Sponges are primitive animals that filter feed on tiny food particles carried in the
water sweeping over them. [email protected]
20. 20. Echinoderms • The name "Echinoderm" literally means "spiny-skinned", a trait that shared by
all members of the group. [email protected]
21. 21. Sea stars • "starfish", are often found in sand and seagrass habitat around coral reefs as well as
upon the hard reef substrate. [email protected]
22. 22. Sea Urchins • Sea Urchins (Class Echinoidea) are active grazing herbivores and are among the
most common of all coral reef echinoderms. [email protected]
23. 23. Mollusks • Coral reef mollusks are mainly benthic (bottom dwelling) invertebrates, but there
are a few open water swimmers included as well. • Gastropods (snails) • Bivalves (clams, mussels,
scallops) • Cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, octopus) [email protected]
24. 24. Crustaceans • Coral reef crustaceans include the large, more familiar animals such as shrimps,
lobsters, and crabs, as well as many smaller or cryptic types like amphipods, stomatopods, and
copepods. [email protected]
25. 25. Coral fish diversity in Netrani waters • Balistidae family dominated in all the four sites (22 %)
followed by Pomacentridae (12.5 %), • Caesionidae (9.7 %), • Labridae (7.8 %), A total of 69 species
belonging to 39 genera, 19 families and 3 orders [email protected]
26. 26. Coral Reef Plants • The term "coral reef plants" is generally used to refer to all photosynthetic
life forms (other than bacteria) commonly found within coral reef ecosystems.
[email protected]
27. 27. • Imp. Plants- • Mangroves and • Seagrasses that are often closely associated with coral reefs. •
Both groups are capable of rapid growth and high production rates, and thus of making a
substantial contribution to the food webs of coral reef systems. • By trapping suspended
sediments and slowing water movement these plants also benefit nearby coral reefs by reducing
sediment loads in the water. [email protected]
28. 28. Seagrasses • Seagrasses are most often found in shallow, sheltered marine or estuarine waters.
• They are the only type of angiosperm (flowering plant) to successfully colonize the sea.
[email protected]
29. 29. Mangroves • Mangroves are a unique group of large shrub-like plants that grow in thick,
physically complex "forests" that line many tropical and sub-tropical shores.
[email protected]
30. 30. Coral Reef "Algae" • A variety of algae is always present in coral reef ecosystems; in fact, a few
types are essential to the survival of corals and the formation of coral reefs. • These diverse life
forms were once classified as "plants", but that is no longer the case. [email protected]
31. 31. Seaweeds: Macroscopic Reef Algae • Large, multicellular forms of marine algae are commonly
called "seaweeds". • These algal forms are widely distributed within coral reef ecosystems, where
they occur as one of three main types based on color: • green, • red, and • brown.
[email protected]
32. 32. • Green algae (Chlorophyta) are most common in shallow reef areas. • These seaweeds are
often found on rocky reef surfaces as well as on unconsolidated (sand) substrates.
[email protected]
33. 33. • Red algae (Rhodophyta) are comparatively close relatives of the green algae. • These forms
may be found from the shallowest reef flats to depths exceeding 150 ft. [email protected]
 34. 34. Ecological Role of Coral Reef Plants • The taxonomically diverse array of photosynthetic life
forms introduced above are responsible for coral reef "primary production" (the creation of "new"
biomass from simple inorganic pre-cursors). [email protected]
35. 35. Thank You [email protected]
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Coral reef ecosystems

1. 1. CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS Done by Thoiban, Ameen, Haniu & Saneeh

2. 2. WHAT IS A CORAL? • Corals are composed of thin plates, or layers, of calcium carbonate secreted
over time by hundreds of soft bodied animals called coral polyps. • Polyps range in size from a
pinhead to a foot in length. • Each polyp lives in a symbiotic relationship with a host zooxanthellae
that gives the coral its color
3. 3. • Zooxanthellae take in carbon dioxide, process it through photosynthesis, and give off oxygen
and other important nutrients that are then used by the host polyp. • As in all photosynthesizing
organisms, this means that corals must be exposed to a sufficient amount of sunlight. This
confines most corals to shallow waters that are clean and clear.
4. 4. • There are two kinds of corals: hard and soft. Hard corals (Scleractinia), such as brain, star,
staghorn, elkhorn and pillar corals have rigid exoskeletons, or corallites, that protect their soft
delicate bodies. • Soft corals (Gorgonians), such as sea fans, sea whips, and sea rods, sway with the
currents and lack an exoskeleton.
5. 5. WHAT IS A CORAL REEF? • Coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on
earth, rivaled only by tropical rain forests. • They are made up not only of hard and soft corals, but
also sponges, crustaceans, mollusks, fish, sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and much more.
6. 6. • Competition for resources such as food, space and sunlight are some of the primary factors in
determining the abundances and diversity of organisms on a reef. • Each component of a coral reef
is dependent upon and interconnected with countless other plants, animals and organisms.
7. 7. • This means that fluctuations in the abundance of one species can drastically alter both the
diversity and abundances of others. • While natural causes such as hurricanes and other large
storm events can be the stimulus for such alterations, it is more commonly anthropological forces
that effect these types of shifts in the ecosystem.
8. 8. • For example, overfishing of herbivorous fish often results in increased growth of algae and sea
grasses. This generally results in an increase in other herbivorous marine life, such as sea urchins. •
Over time all ecosystems will naturally establish these types of balances between predators and
prey and organisms in competition for similar resources.
9. 9. WHAT IS A CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM? • The coral reef ecosystem is a diverse collection of species
that interact with each other and the physical environment. • The sun is the initial source of energy
for this ecosystem. • Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton, algae, and other plants convert light
energy into chemical energy. A portion of this energy is passed on as animals eat plants or
10. 10. CORAL REEF ANIMALS • Coral reefs provide habitats for a large variety of plants and animals.
These plants and animals rely on corals as a source of food and shelter. Sponges are found
inhabiting holes in the reef. They remove small chips from the coral. These sponges, such as
Cliona, cause deterioration in corals.
11. 11. • Sponges inhabit corals for the purpose of protection from predators. Sea worms depend on
corals for food. They feed on corals such as Porites and Agaricia. • Shrimps and crabs depend on
corals for shelter. Xantid crabs form hole in some types of coral. • Fish also depend on corals for
protection against predators. One such is the parrot fish.
 12. 12. • Sea stars are coral predators. This crown- of-thorns starfish relies on corals for food. • There
are many other species of fungi, sponges, sea worms, crustaceans and mollusks that bore into
coral skeletons. • Other organisms that inhabit the coral reefs include sea urchins, jellyfish, oysters,
clams, turtles, an d sea anemones.
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