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Coral Reef Animal Study & Lapbook

 

Unit and Templates by Michelle Wiesbrock

Lapbook Templates

Research & Lessons

What is a Coral Reef?
Coral reefs are large underwater structures made up of millions of tiny animals called coral polyps. Coral polyps look like plants but are in fact simple animals. They have a soft tube like body with a mouth surrounded by long tentacles. The tentacles grab its food.

Coral reefs grow in warm tropical seas where the temperature of the water stays above 65 degrees F. Most reefs lie near the equator in shallow waters (usually 100 feet deep or less). Coral reefs are sometimes called the “rainforest of the sea” because of the enormous diversity of plants and animals.

Find the locations of coral reefs around the world by doing a quick Google or Yahoo search. Or check out these maps:

http://www.reefrelief.org/coralreef/maps/map.html
http://www.oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/media/supp_coral05a.html
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/68211main_landsat_coralreef_m.jpg
 

Hard Coral vs. Soft Corals
Hard corals are so named because they have a stony bases and/or hard outer skeletons. Hard corals live on the seafloor and on slopes. They feed only at night and are bright and colorful during feeding. Hard corals are reef building corals. See information below in How a Reef is Formed.

Soft corals do not have stony bases or outer skeletons; they are soft. They grow on overhangs and cliffs and feed during the day. They are very bright and colorful.

How a Reef is Formed
When the hard coral polyps die, their skeletons are left behind. New polyps attach to the skeletons and when these new polyps die, their skeletons add another layer. So a reef is built over a long period of time and consists of layers and layers of coral polyp skeletons.

Speaking of Skeletons
Your skeleton is on the inside of your body; your body made your bones by using minerals from the foods you eat.  

A hard coral’s skeleton is on the outside of its body.  It is made by using chemicals it takes in from the seawater. 

Our Reefs are Disappearing
Sadly, our coral reefs have been disappearing. It has been estimated that we have lost 20% of the coral reefs in the world in the last 20 years. Several factors are contributing to the loss. Unfortunately, much of the blame is put on humans.

1) Over fishing by humans. When too many of a particular species are removed from a reef, it can upset the balance of the food web at the reef and can cause parts of the reef to eventually die out.
2) Water Pollution. Chemical runoff from pesticides and fertilizers eventually make it to the oceans. Many chemicals are poisonous to the creatures who live in the oceans and on the reefs.
3) Global warming. Global warming has increased the temperature of the water in the oceans and increased the level of water in the ocean. These factors make it harder for the creatures in the reef to flourish as before.
4) Boat Anchors. Anchors thrown from boats by careless captains break up the reef bit by bit.
5) Souvenirs. Coral reefs are fascinating places for divers and snorkelers to visit. It is a huge industry and brings in many millions of dollars to countries near reefs. However, many tourists touch the reef or try to break off pieces for souvenirs.

Why are Coral Reefs Important to Us?
Besides being one of the most beautiful and fascinating places on Earth, coral reefs are important to humans for many reasons.

1) Protection. Many reefs provide barriers to the coast against incoming waves. Without the reefs, shorelines would erode more quickly.
2) Medicines. Many drugs and medicines have been developed from substances collected from coral reefs. If the reefs disappear, we will lose a very important medical resource.
3) Food. The coral reef teems with life. The reef provides food to many people all over the world. Of course we have to be careful never to overfish or take too many of a single species from the reef.
4) Tourism dollars. Countries located near coral reefs depend upon money generated from tourists who come to visit the reef. Without those tourists, many local people would lose their jobs.

Can your child think of other reasons?

Types of Reefs
Atolls are circular reefs with a lagoon in the center. They are usually far from the coastline.
Fringing Reefs are found close to the shore of islands and coastlines. The water between the reef and the shore is shallow.
Barrier Reefs lie farther away from shore. The water between the reef and the shore is deeper (up to 100 feet) and forms a lagoon

Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and perhaps the most famous reef in the world. It is located in the Coral Sea off the northeastern coast of Australia and is home to about 340 kinds of coral and more than 2,200 species of fish. The Great Barrier Reef is more than 1,200 miles long but it is not actually one reef. It is actually many, many (about 3,000) smaller reefs located close together.

What Makes a Fish a Fish?
Fish are important creatures that live on the coral reef. But not all creatures that live on the reef are fish. So how do we know which creatures are fish?

If you asked 30 children “What is a fish?” You would probably get 30 completely different answers. We all have different ideas of what a fish is? However, most fish do share some common characteristics.

A fish is a vertebrate which means it has a backbone and an internal skeleton. Most fish live underwater and breathe with gills. Most fish have scales and they swim using fins. Most fish lay jellylike eggs.

Fish Defenses
There are many different ways that fish protect themselves from predators on the reef. Here are just a few.

Black Spots
Some fish have black spots toward the backs of their bodies. Predators mistake it for their eyes and attack the wrong end of the fish allowing the fish to escape.

Black Stripes
Some fish have black stripes covering their eyes leaving predators wondering which end to attack.

Poisonous Stingers
Some fish have poisonous stingers to protect themselves from predators.

Camouflage
Some fish have special features which allow them to blend very well in their environments.

Schools
Some fish travel in groups, called schools, for protection. Large schools of moving fish often confuse their predators.

Appearing Larger
Some fish are able to “inflate” themselves which makes them appear larger and possibly too large for a predator to eat.

Food Chain
There are 3 levels to every food chain.

The first or bottom level consists of plants. Plants are called primary producers. They make their own food through by using energy from the sun.

The second level is made up of herbivores or animals that eat plants. Herbivores are called primary consumers because they are the first group to consume food, or eat the primary producers or plants.

The third or top level consists of carnivores or animals that eat other animals. Carnivores are called secondary consumers because they are the second group in the food chain to eat food. Carnivores may also be tertiary consumers if they have eaten another carnivore and are therefore the third group in the food chain to eat food.

You can think of the food chain like an energy pyramid. On the bottom are plants that receive energy from the sun. This bottom level of the pyramid is wide to represent the many plants that are necessary to make food energy for the herbivores. The next level is the herbivores. The level is not as wide as the bottom level and shows that there are fewer herbivores than there are plants because each herbivore has to eat many many plants in order to have the energy it needs to survive. The third or top level is narrowest and represents carnivores. There are fewer carnivores than herbivores because carnivores must consume many herbivores in order to have enough energy to survive.

So a food chain involves plants, herbivores, and carnivores. But most plants and animals belong to more than one food chain. When two different food chains connect a food web is formed.

Animals of the Coral Reef

Parrotfish
Parrotfish are very brightly colored and have beaklike mouths made of “teeth” that are fused together. They are sometimes called the “cows of the sea” because they are grazers. In search of small plants called algae, parrotfish will eat the coral reef. The reef is digested and passes out of the parrotfish as sand. One parrotfish can create as much as 1,100 pounds of sand each year that ends up on tropical beaches around the world.  (That's enough sand to fill 75 1-gallon pails!)

Some parrotfish create a mucous blanket to surround and protect themselves at night. The mucous blanket keeps predators from picking up their smell.

Anemones and Anemone Fish
Sea anemones are animals that live on the reef. They have stinging tentacles that keep most predators away. Because anemone fish, such as clown fish, have a protective coating of slime on their bodies, they can live among the anemone’s tentacles. In return for providing a safe home for them, the anemone fish clean up the anemone by eating parasites and scraps. Anemone fish also are very territorial so they drive away anemone predator fish. Anemone fish rarely stray from their homes and even lay their eggs at the base of the anemone.

Giant Clams
Most clams are only a few inches long, but the giant clam really is a giant measuring up to 4.8 feet long and weighing over 500 pounds!

You can find a giant clam, the largest mollusk on Earth, in the warm waters of the South Pacific and Indian oceans.  Once a giant clam fastens itself to a spot on a coral reef, it will sit there for the rest of its life which may be 100 years.   Giant clams look alike, but no two giant clams have the same coloring! Isn't that amazing!?

In order to eat and live, giant clams are dependent on algae that live in their tissues, and algae are dependent on the giant clams.  The clams consume the sugars and proteins produced by the algae. In exchange, the clams offer the algae a safe home and access to sunlight  which the algae need for photosynthesis.  Clams also survive by consuming plankton; they  use a siphon to draw in water to filter and eat passing plankton.

Despite popular myth, giant clams do not eat people. 

Keeping it Clean
Some animals in the reef help others to stay clean!

The cleaner wrasse is known as the reef’s vacuum cleaner because sucks parasites, dead skin and bits of food from the fins, gills, teeth and skin of reef predators.   This process keeps the wrasse fish fed and the larger fish clean!   In order to let the fish know it's ready for work, the wrasse will wiggle and jiggle.  When the fish see the dance, they line up for cleaning. 

Cleaner shrimp do the same work as the cleaner fish.  They do a dance, too, to let customers know they are open for business.  One shrimp or several (or combos of cleaner shrimp and cleaner fish) share a cleaning station where sharks, moray eels, large groupers, and triggerfish wait their turns to be cleaned.   A shrimp is not afraid to climb inside the mouth; the predator will not eat it!  It also works on the gills, skin,
mucus coating, and eyeballs.  

Other info and Activities

Virtual Diving in the Great Barrier Reef

Animal I Spy Game from Monterey Bay Aquarium

Coloring Pages of Coral Reef Fish

Make a Fish Print

Look at Different Types of Coral

Coral Reefs at Enchanted Learning

Movies:
IMAX Coral Reef Adventure
Disney’s Finding Nemo, of course!

Library List
Colorful Captivating Coral Reefs by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
DK 24 Hours Coral Reef by Caroline Bingham
Coral Reef Food Chains by Bobbie Kalman
Eyewitness Books Fish by Steven Parker
One Less Fish by Kim Michelle Toft and Allan Sheather
One Small Square Coral Reef by Donald M. Silver
A Coral Reef Tale: Old Shell, New Shell by Helen Ward
Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes

Easy Chapter Book:
Magic School Bus: The Fishy Field Trip by Martin Schwabacher

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