Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Coral Reef Assignment

Use clip art and paint to create images of the main types of reefs (fringe reefs, barrier reefs, atolls)

1. How is each reef structure formed?
Fringe-A fringe reef is a type of coral reef that extends outward from the shore of an island or mainland, with no body of water separating land and reef.
Barrier-A long, narrow ridge of coral or rock parallel to and relatively near a coastline, separated from the coastline by a lagoon too deep for coral growth.
Atolls- A ringlike coral island and reef that nearly or entirely encloses a lagoon.
2. Where is each reef structure found?
Fringing reefs are found on rocky shorelines close to land.
Barrier reefs, like fringing reefs, are found along the coast but farther out and separated by a lagoon.
Atolls are found on top of sunken volcanic islands which lie underneath a layer of calcium carbonate.
3. What is the trophic structure of a reef?
-The trophic structure of reefs usually revolve around nutrient recycling. The zooanthellae take the coral nitrogen and phosphorus waste products and use the sun to create organic compounds which the corals need to survive. Without this process, corals would not be able to grow to their vast sizes since the water is usually poor in nutrients.

4. How does the location and type of reef influence the trophic structure?
Fringing reefs are close to shore so the water in which they live in gets run off and a mixture of nutrients and pollution from the land. Barrier reefs, however, are farther out so they have access to water from the lagoon and the deeper ocean. Additionally, the fish and other organisms that live in the reefs add and subtract from the nutrients in that community.
5. Give examples of the types of corals found on reefs.
Fast-growing corals, soft corals, hard corals, branching corals, TONS of corals!
6. Give examples of competition, predation, and grazing
Competition is an overgrowth or direct attack of one coral to another in their fight for growing space. A Crown-of-Thorns starfish is an example of predation since it eats and completely kills coral. Many types of fish eat coral polyps, but they don't eat enough to kill the whole organism. Grazing keeps coral populations in check.

Answer the 3 critical thinking question

part 2

Use a map of the Saipan and import it into Paint. Identify and label the types of reefs found on Saipan. List 5 differences and similarities between the different reef types. Include a list of different organisms or habitat design, trophic structures that exist in the different reefs on the island.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Sea Floor Spreading


What is sea floor spreading?


-. Sea-floor spreading is the process in which the ocean floor is extended when two plates move apart.


What are some of the major land forms that are created from plate movement?


-. The continents, trenches, ocean mountain? -_-;;;


How were the Mariana Islands formed?


-. By the major movements of volcanoes and the plates.


What evidence exists today that the plates are still moving and that the islands are ancient volcanoes?


-. The earthquake is the answers. Everytime the plates move an earthquake happens.


What is an atoll?


-. An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.


Why are atolls mainly found on the Pacific?


-. Because there are high level of volcanic activities going around the whole pacific.

-PS- How do you make the model? -_-;; i don't get it...=_=..

Someone Please Help?...

Friday, November 16, 2007

Chap 2 Critical Thinking

#2. Why are the most oceanic trenches found in the Pacific Ocean?
-. The reason why most trenches are found in the Pacific Ocean are the volcanoes and earthquakes.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Adaptations and Biology of Birds, Reptiles, and Mammals.

For this assignment, you will be comparing the biology and adaptations of marine birds, reptiles and mammals.
1. Select one marine animal from each class (aves, reptilia and mammalia).

2. Find a picture of each on line and use Paint to label the parts of the animal that allow it to live in the water. You might need to draw or use pictures to show internal structures. Describe at least 4 adaptations for each animal and contrast these adaptations to animals of the same class on land. For example: Compare a hawk to a jaeger or petrel; or a seal to a lion; or a whale to an elephant.

3. Describe the anatomy and physiology of each animal and how the animal's systems complexity, design, structure and function allow the animal to live where it does. How is the physiology different between the animal and another from the same class on land.

4. Explain 4 major differences between the invertebrates we've learned about and the vertebrates you are investigating in this assignment. How do those differences increase or decrease the animals adaptability, range and niche in the marine ecosystem. If one class were to go extinct, which one would have the least impact or greatest and why?

Critical Thinking for Chap 1/3/4/5/6/8

Chap 1.
#4. Many species of whale have been hunted to the brink of extinction. Many people think that we do not have the right to kill whales and that all whaling should cease. On the other hand, in many cultures whales have been hunted for centuries and still have great cultural importance. People from such cultures argue that limited whaling should be allowed to continue. What is the role that science can play in deciding who is right? What questions cannot be answered by science?
- Well, first of all science can take role on how many species of whales are left in that particular region. After doing so, the scientists can tell the people who catches whale for their culture, not to catch? loads of whale at a time. Science may not be able to answers this question. "Can science help bring back the whales population to normal?" the answer might be yes or no, but it can't be solved scientifically.
Chap 3.
#3. If you owned a seaside home and a bad storm brought heavy winds and high surf to your coastline, would you prefer it to be during a new moon or a quarter moon? Why?
-I would definately prefer the new moon. Because, at the new moon stage, the gravitational force of the new moon causes the north and south pole's water to stretch out. Due to the new moon gravitational force, there might be less damage, because most of the water are outside? earth.
Chap 4.
#1. During the day, algae carry out both photosyntesis and respiration. Small, isolated tide pools on rocky shores are often inhabited by thick growths of seaweeds, which are algae. Would you expect the amount of oxygen in the water to differ between night and day? How?
- Well.. i think that, it differs everytime the sun is up and down. Because during the day respiration and photosyntesis occurs, which creates O2 in the water, but during the night only respiration occurs, which means that CO2 will be dominat in the water?
Chap 5.
#1. Scientists use the particular structure of nucleic acids and other chemical differences to separate the archaea from the bacteria. Can you think of other characteristics that could be used to distinguish not only between these two domains but also between them and Protists?
-Well, archaea are the simplest and most primitive form of life that we know so far. Which means, that prokaryotic which differs from protist.
Chap 6.
#2. Only very few flowering plants have invaded the oceans, but those that have are very successful. What are some possible reasons for the small number of marine flowering plants? How do those that have taken the step mangae to thrive in some enviornments?
-. Well... the flowering plants might have setteled down on shore or land, because it is "almost" impossible to settle down in water. Since most of the flowering plants becomes successful in the land , becuase of the maybe nutritious? lands or very fertile? lands. However, those of the unsuccessful ones, which journeys~ towards the ocean, uses their adaptation skills to survive the long? tiresome? journey -_-;;
Chap 8.
#1. Hagfishes and lampreys are the only living representatives of a very ancient group. Why do you suppose there are still some of these jawless fishes around?
-. Well, the only answer to this question is because they are important to the marine enviornment. For one thing, they clean up the dead, fishes? or animals in the ocean. You can say that they are similar to the cleaner shrimp, although hagfishes and lampreys maybe faster cleaning all the messes!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Fishes of the Marianas


This is the Blue Marlin


This is the Puffer Fish

This is the Clown Fish

This is the Bluefin Trevally

This is the Eight-Band Groupe

This is the Shipjack Tuna

This is the Angel Fish

This is the Mahi Mahi (don't look at the Fisherman)
This is the Stone Fish

This is the Lion Fish

This is the Rudderfish or Guilie

This is the Parrotfish

This is the Red Snapper or Onaga

This is the Multibar Goatfish or Satmoneti

Snapper or Gindai

This is the Bluespine Unicornfish or Tataga

This is the Atulai

This is the Two-spot Red Snapper or Tagafi

This is the Tagafi- red phase

This is the Tagafi- juvenile