Coral Project
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Jessica P. & Kalo L. Field Ecology P. Ms. Kohlbrenner 11-26-18
Coral Polyp Project Tentacle: The tentacle is long, slender, and flexible as it is the feeding mechanism for the Coral Polyp, since they can’t move around on its own, they need to way to eat. They catch prey for the organism mostly consisting of plankton or algae, and it surrounds the oral disk on the top of the Polyp. In the case of bleaching the tentacles would turn translucent and pretty much stop working, meaning they would lose food, and their ability to protect themselves. Mouth: The mouth is located at the center of the oral disk, or on top next to the tentacles, and it’s how the coral eats the algae or plankton. It not only intakes the food, but it also expels or gets rid of after waste. When bleaching occurs, the mouth would automatically stay either opened or closed, allowing the remaining waste, and the prey to escape into the ocean. The coral wouldn’t be able to feed itself, without the help of tentacles either, and it would be in the process of dying, as it lost most of the algae as well. Gastrodermis: The Gastrodermis is the inner cell layer and it lines the gastrovascular cavity, where it absorbs nutrients, allows gas exchange, and reproduction. Another thing that it does is that it gets rid of mucus and waste, as it pushes it up towards the mouth of the polyp. Without the Gastrodermis, waste would take over the stomach area, and overflow it, and the coral would start to slowly lose its nutrients that were stored and wouldn’t have that sort of jelly texture anymore. Stomach: The stomach holds the responsibility of storing and digesting the prey that the coral manages to get. The stomach would stop working, and it wouldn’t be able to digest
anything, because there is nothing. It will eventually died off, due to the low or broken amount of the algae. It would most likely start to slowly break itself apart as well, with as it doesn’t have a main source of food to deal with anymore, or send to the digestive filament. Digestive Filament: The filament is a ribbon like extension that also helps the coral digest its food. This vital organ is located in the stomach of the coral polyp, and will protrude through the mouth during feeding time. Without the digestive filament, the coral polyp will most likely fall apart and choke up, killing it faster, as it is both a vital organ and part of the digestion of food. The food wouldn’t go where it needed to be, and there would be no waste created, or nutrients able to store anymore. Septum: The Septum is the vertical blade or partition within the calyx of coral, and it separates the different parts of the coral. I’m not sure what would happen if this dies off, but I’m pretty sure that if this is bleached or dries up, the coral polyp would easily break, and it wouldn’t be able to keep itself together and start to crack. Basal Plate: The skeletal element deposited by the planula, it’s also where the coral builds up calcium carbonate, it is also known as the Basal Disk. When bleaching enters, the basal plate begins to break up and sometimes even break away from the others. There would be no calcium carbonate to build up or take away. Mesoglea: The Mesoglea is the clear gelatin like substance that helps the polyp keep its form, it resides between the Ectodermis, and the Gastrodermis. The Mesoglea would die in the case of bleaching as it hardens and becomes more of a solid figure and loses it’s jelly texture to become almost rock like and turns white which is why it’s called coral bleaching. Nematocyst: Thread-like stinging cells that are used to capture prey in the tentacles. These are toxic, and meant to be deadly to small fish or the plankton. Bleaching would not only rob the coral polyp of it’s way to catch prey but to also harm it, and the stinging cells would die
off, along with the rest of it. It wouldn’t be able to defend itself against anything, or be able to eat in that matter, it would lose it’s best weapon and defense mechanism. Zooxanthellae: This is the microscopic single celled algae that gives the coral polyp it’s color and most of its nutrients, as it’s a big part of the functioning of it. It is one of the main sources of the coral polyps existence, and it has a symbiotic relationship with the coral polyp. When bleaching occurs, the Zooxanthellae will leave the coral polyp making it lose its color and jelly texture, and it will either die off or head to another coral polyp, because it is getting too warm in the ocean or chemicals in sunscreen are affecting it. Endoderm: The Endoderm is the inner layer of a polyp that houses the zooxanthellae, (or algae), and this is the other major layer of tissue, with the Ectoderm. In the case of bleaching, the Endoderm, would turn to a clear color, due to the loss of color from the algae and it would die like the rest of the Coral Polyp. It would slowly start to fall apart as well as it is one of the main two tissues of the coral polyp. Ectoderm: The Ectoderm, or Ectodermis, is the outer layer of a polyp that contains mucus secretes and nematocyst, the coral only have two major layers of this type of tissue, this and the Endoderm. If bleaching occurred, the Ectoderm would start to fall apart, with the nematocyst losing it’s sting and the mucus either drying up or escaping from the coral polyp. This would be the end of one of the major tissues as well that helps it contain it’s jelly like texture and it would start to harden.
Works Cited Living Oceans Foundation, www.livingoceansfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/education_interactive/unit_3_coral_anato my/.
Bauer, and Adriana. “Structure, Classification and Function of Corals - Biodiscovery and the Great Barrier Reef.” Queensland Museum, www.qm.qld.gov.au/microsites/biodiscovery/03sponges-and-corals/structure-classification-funct ion.html. “Corals.” NOAA's National Ocean Service, oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral01_intro.html. Woody, Todd. “How Coral Bleaching Events Affect Ecological Diversity.” Pacific Standard, Pacific Standard, 16 Apr. 2018, psmag.com/environment/coral-bleaching-is-gentrifying-fish-neighborhoods.
https://coast.noaa.gov/data/SEAMedia/Lessons/G3U3L2%20Coral%20Structure%20and%20Fun ction.pdf
https://www.sailorsforthesea.org/sites/default/files/Build_a_Coral_Polyp.pdf
Coral Polyp Project Tentacle: The tentacle is long, slender, and flexible as it is the feeding mechanism for the Coral Polyp, since they can’t move around on its own, they need to way to eat. They catch prey for the organism mostly consisting of plankton or algae, and it surrounds the oral disk on the top of the Polyp. In the case of bleaching the tentacles would turn translucent and pretty much stop working, meaning they would lose food, and their ability to protect themselves. Mouth: The mouth is located at the center of the oral disk, or on top next to the tentacles, and it’s how the coral eats the algae or plankton. It not only intakes the food, but it also expels or gets rid of after waste. When bleaching occurs, the mouth would automatically stay either opened or closed, allowing the remaining waste, and the prey to escape into the ocean. The coral wouldn’t be able to feed itself, without the help of tentacles either, and it would be in the process of dying, as it lost most of the algae as well. Gastrodermis: The Gastrodermis is the inner cell layer and it lines the gastrovascular cavity, where it absorbs nutrients, allows gas exchange, and reproduction. Another thing that it does is that it gets rid of mucus and waste, as it pushes it up towards the mouth of the polyp. Without the Gastrodermis, waste would take over the stomach area, and overflow it, and the coral would start to slowly lose its nutrients that were stored and wouldn’t have that sort of jelly texture anymore. Stomach: The stomach holds the responsibility of storing and digesting the prey that the coral manages to get. The stomach would stop working, and it wouldn’t be able to digest
anything, because there is nothing. It will eventually died off, due to the low or broken amount of the algae. It would most likely start to slowly break itself apart as well, with as it doesn’t have a main source of food to deal with anymore, or send to the digestive filament. Digestive Filament: The filament is a ribbon like extension that also helps the coral digest its food. This vital organ is located in the stomach of the coral polyp, and will protrude through the mouth during feeding time. Without the digestive filament, the coral polyp will most likely fall apart and choke up, killing it faster, as it is both a vital organ and part of the digestion of food. The food wouldn’t go where it needed to be, and there would be no waste created, or nutrients able to store anymore. Septum: The Septum is the vertical blade or partition within the calyx of coral, and it separates the different parts of the coral. I’m not sure what would happen if this dies off, but I’m pretty sure that if this is bleached or dries up, the coral polyp would easily break, and it wouldn’t be able to keep itself together and start to crack. Basal Plate: The skeletal element deposited by the planula, it’s also where the coral builds up calcium carbonate, it is also known as the Basal Disk. When bleaching enters, the basal plate begins to break up and sometimes even break away from the others. There would be no calcium carbonate to build up or take away. Mesoglea: The Mesoglea is the clear gelatin like substance that helps the polyp keep its form, it resides between the Ectodermis, and the Gastrodermis. The Mesoglea would die in the case of bleaching as it hardens and becomes more of a solid figure and loses it’s jelly texture to become almost rock like and turns white which is why it’s called coral bleaching. Nematocyst: Thread-like stinging cells that are used to capture prey in the tentacles. These are toxic, and meant to be deadly to small fish or the plankton. Bleaching would not only rob the coral polyp of it’s way to catch prey but to also harm it, and the stinging cells would die
off, along with the rest of it. It wouldn’t be able to defend itself against anything, or be able to eat in that matter, it would lose it’s best weapon and defense mechanism. Zooxanthellae: This is the microscopic single celled algae that gives the coral polyp it’s color and most of its nutrients, as it’s a big part of the functioning of it. It is one of the main sources of the coral polyps existence, and it has a symbiotic relationship with the coral polyp. When bleaching occurs, the Zooxanthellae will leave the coral polyp making it lose its color and jelly texture, and it will either die off or head to another coral polyp, because it is getting too warm in the ocean or chemicals in sunscreen are affecting it. Endoderm: The Endoderm is the inner layer of a polyp that houses the zooxanthellae, (or algae), and this is the other major layer of tissue, with the Ectoderm. In the case of bleaching, the Endoderm, would turn to a clear color, due to the loss of color from the algae and it would die like the rest of the Coral Polyp. It would slowly start to fall apart as well as it is one of the main two tissues of the coral polyp. Ectoderm: The Ectoderm, or Ectodermis, is the outer layer of a polyp that contains mucus secretes and nematocyst, the coral only have two major layers of this type of tissue, this and the Endoderm. If bleaching occurred, the Ectoderm would start to fall apart, with the nematocyst losing it’s sting and the mucus either drying up or escaping from the coral polyp. This would be the end of one of the major tissues as well that helps it contain it’s jelly like texture and it would start to harden.
Works Cited Living Oceans Foundation, www.livingoceansfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/education_interactive/unit_3_coral_anato my/.
Bauer, and Adriana. “Structure, Classification and Function of Corals - Biodiscovery and the Great Barrier Reef.” Queensland Museum, www.qm.qld.gov.au/microsites/biodiscovery/03sponges-and-corals/structure-classification-funct ion.html. “Corals.” NOAA's National Ocean Service, oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral01_intro.html. Woody, Todd. “How Coral Bleaching Events Affect Ecological Diversity.” Pacific Standard, Pacific Standard, 16 Apr. 2018, psmag.com/environment/coral-bleaching-is-gentrifying-fish-neighborhoods.
https://coast.noaa.gov/data/SEAMedia/Lessons/G3U3L2%20Coral%20Structure%20and%20Fun ction.pdf
https://www.sailorsforthesea.org/sites/default/files/Build_a_Coral_Polyp.pdf
