~If I could fly...~

Friday, September 5, 2008

Great Barrier Reef

^The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres

^ The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia

^The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space

^the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.

^ This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.

^The Great Barrier Reef supports a wide diversity of life, and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981.

Importance of Coral Reef

Corals provide protection and shelter for many different species of fishes. Without coral reefs, these fishes are left homeless with nowhere to live and no where to have their offsprings.

Not only do fishes increase the diversity of our world, but reef fishes as well as mollusks feed between 30 and 40 million people every year. They also make beautiful pets and the money made by catching and selling these animals provides many people with an income so that they can feed their families.

Very important in controlling how much carbon dioxide is in the ocean water. Without corals, the amount of carbon dioxide in the water would rise dramatically and that would affect all living things on Earth.

#Protect coasts from strong currents and waves by slowing down the water before it gets to the shore. That is why they are called barrier reefs. They provide a barrier between the ocean and the shore.

Information on Coral Polyps

Ahermatypic
Animals
Related to anemones and jellyfish
Must rely on capturing food with the tentacles of the individual coral polyps
In sunlight, ahermatypic coral polyps are normally retracted
Sometimes, the coral polyps are only extended during daylight, but this seems to only occur in areas of shade, such as on the bottom side of a large, round coral head, or in caverns, or in deeper waters
At night the polyps are extended, using their tentacles to catch free-swimming worms, plankton and other microscopic organisms
As a diver, shining a bright dive light directly on a polyp helps the coral feed, as hundreds of tiny insect-like microorganisms attracted to the light are captured by the sticky coral tentacles. The captured prey are passed to the polyp mouth and absorbed as food

Dead or Alive...

To see whether coral reef are dead or alive, read the notes given...

Dead...

WHITE in colour

Alive...

PURPLE in colour
RED in colour
BLACK in colour
YELLOW in colour

Our team passion on marine conservation is: stop the animals living in the sea becoming extinct
stop the pollution before all the corals disappear
save the coral reefs, save the fishes,
save the ocean, save human kind!

We really have fun when saving the coral reefs...

We felt that we are like the heroines saving the coral reefs from bad people...

Hope that you all will promise us to save the coral reefs...^ ^

flew away
whee..

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

our beach cleaning.....very fun!!!

flew away
whee..

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

There are 2 ways of reproducing coral reef. Besides sexual reproduction, there is still one more which is the asexual reproduction.

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Environmental disturbances may dislodge some polyps or portions of colonies from the parent colony and deposit them on another part of the reef.
Sometimes, newly developing coral colonies split and form separate colonies.
Often a polyp produced by sexual reproduction initiates growth of a colony asexually by budding. Budding occurs when a portion of the parent polyp pinches off to form a new individual. Budding enables the polyp to replicate itself several times and at the same time maintain tissue connections within the colony. Later, the same polyp may reproduce sexually.

Actions that the Public can take to Conserve the Ocean

Here are some examples of ocean's threats: over-fishing
lack of protection
pollution
shipping
human activities
What can the Public do to help the Ocean:

Reduce the number of fishing activities, not to consume much seafood, etc.
Include a global legal framework to enable High Seas Marine Protected Areas to be established.
Do not throw rubbishes at the wrong place and with the wrong manner! (example: throwing rubbishes/littering at the beach, instead of throwing to the dustbin.)
Prevent oil spills! Oil spills may occur in accidents invoving big shipsthat transport oil. When oil gets into water bodies, it spreads over the surface of the water.
Reduce the number of water activities/competition such as diving, surfing, snorkering, fishing, etc.
Last but not least! Organize beach/ocean clean-ups in order to prevent oceans from being polluted.

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION

There are 2 types of reproduction of coral reef. One of them is sexual reproduction.

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Corals reproduce sexually by either internal or external fertilization. The reproductive cells are borne on membranes that radiate inward from the layer of tissue that lines the stomach cavity.
Some corals are hermaphroditic (having both male and female reproductive cells). Others are either male or female. Both sexes can occur in a colony, or a colony may consist of individuals of the same sex.
Synchronous spawning occurs in many corals. Polyps release eggs and sperm into the water at the same time. Synchronous spawning depends on four factors: time of the year, water temperature, and tidal and lunar cycles. Spawning is most successful when there is little variation between high and low tides. The less water movement over the reef, the better the chance that an egg will be fertilized.
Once the larva settles on a substrate, it develops into a polyp. Some scientists believe that most larvae settle within 600m of the parent reef. Others contend that some larvae travel longer distances. Research is still ongoing.

Beach Clean-up on 27/8/2008 (Wednesday)

Its a pity for J.S. missing out this exciting activity. It is unfortunate that she was sicked on this day, we need her badly!

However, my friend J.W. and I were able to work this out.We did our best to clean the beach. As there was so many pupils doing this activity, we were able to clean up the beach very quickly.

We had a very happy morning as we did a part for saving our dear,coral reefs. I was satisfied but we only got 1/3 full of rubbishes in our trash bag.

We don't care how much rubbishes we collected, because we did our best!I am here to thank everyone who went to the clean-up for doing a part to save the coral reefs. I hoped that the earthlings can continue throwing the rubbishes in a proper manner and place. Coral reefs are really important to everyone, including living things living in the ocean!Thank you so much for helping save the reef!^^

FROM:J.X

Growth of Coral Reef

Coral colonies which grow in shallow water are often heavily branched. In contrast, deeper water corals often grow in sheets or plates. These flattened forms allow for more efficient use of lower light intensities in deeper waters.
The growth rate of coral reefs depend on factors such as light intensity, water temperature, salinity, turbidity, food availability, competition for space, and predation. Upward growth of coral colonies is generally between 0.5 to 4 in. (1-10 cm) a year.

Formations of Coral Reef

Coral reef can take a variety of forms, defined in following:

Fringing Reef- directly attached to shore/borders with an intervening shallow channel/lagoon
Great Barrier Reef- separated from a mainland/island shore by a deep lagoon
Patch Reef- isolated,usually within a lagoon/embayment
Apron Reef- resemble fringing reef
Bank Reef- a linear/semi-circular in outline, also larger than a patch reef
Ribbon Reef- long, narrow, somewhat winding reef, usually associated with an atoll lagoon
Atoll Reef- extends all way round a lagoon without a central island
Table Reef- isolated reef, approaching an atoll type, but without a lagoon

The red-circled animal is a white bottom fish in a dead coral reef

Anatomy of a coral polyp.

flew away
whee..