Title:
Goin’ on a reef walk!
Grade:
Topic:
Standard,
Benchmarks & I
can statement:
4
Marine Science
Standard 4: Ecological systems: Understand the locations and characteristics of
marine ecosystems
Benchmark SC.MS.4.3 Describe the characteristics of coral reefs.
I can statement: I can tell you where coral reefs are located and what they are
like.
Create a brochure
1 day for WebQuest, (brochure could be completed as an out-of-class activity)
Outcome:
Time
Recommended:
Materials
needed:
Printing- If student make their brochure online, they can either save the file or
print it for grading. The notetaking cards can be filled out on the computer or they
can be printed out.
Materials –
On line brochure template OR Paper, colored markers, magazines, scissors, glue,
ruler
Skills –.
Creativity, higher-order thinking, organization, content expertise
Equipment (beside computer)-
Vocabulary:
Hawaiian
vocabulary
Options:
Additional
Information:
Abiotic factors
Biotic factors
Encourage students to create their brochure using technology
Warning: Some of the websites used have blinking flash animations that could be
distracting to some students.
Answers to Reef Questions
1. What is a coral
http://library.think
reef? (Click on the quest.org/J00223
following website;
7/splash/page.ht
then click on the
m
link “coral reefs” to
the left under
“Galleries.”)
2. What has made http://library.think
Hawaiian coral
quest.org/J00223
reefs unique?
7/splash/page.ht
m
A coral reef is defined as "a strip of rock, sand or coral
close to the surface of the ocean or any other body of
water that is made up of millions of tiny animals called
polyps. Around the world, you will hear a reef described as
much more than a strip of coral.”
Hawai'i's coral reefs are very unique. Hawai'i is about
2,000 miles away from the nearest land mass. The
isolation has created unique species that can be found
nowhere else in the world. Hawai'i was born of volcanic
fires and started with no life. The only plants and animals
to settle here were very long-distance travelers. Some
drifted as larvae, a very few swam, others hitched rides.
Stranded in these isolated waters, the offspring of this
select group thrived and multiplied in their isolated
paradise. Over millions of years many species changed
and became uniquely Hawaiian. This is the reason why
over 25% of Hawaiian reef animals are endemic (found
only in that location) to Hawai'i.
Coral reefs are located in tropical oceans near the equator.
3. Where are coral
reefs located?
(Click on the
website below; then
click the link “coral
reefs”. Click the
link in the first
paragraph to view a
map of the world’s
tropical reefs.)
4. What does a
coral reef consist
of? (Click on the
following website;
then select the link
“how they are
formed.”)
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/splash/page.ht
m
5. How are coral
reefs built? (Click
on the following
website; then select
the link “how they
are formed”)
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/sitemap.htm
The coral reefs are formed layer by layer. The delicate
polyps sit inside their calcium cups, each building a little
more calcium carbonate onto the coral head. Multiply this
process by billions of polyps and together they add to the
reef.
6. How long have
coral reefs been in
existence?
http://www.coris.n
oaa.gov/about/wh
at_are/
7. Relatively
speaking, what are
the ages of
Hawaiian coral
reefs?
http://www.coralre
efnetwork.com/re
efs/ecology/defaul
t.htm
Appearing as solitary forms in the fossil record more than
400 million years ago, corals are extremely ancient
animals that evolved into modern reef-building forms over
the last 25 million years.
No one knows exactly, but they are geologically young and
therefore not as well developed as other reefs.
8. How are coral
reefs similar to
rainforests? (Click
on the following
website and select
the link “coral reefs”
in the left margin.
Read the third
paragraph to
answer to
question. Click on
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/splash/page.ht
m
http://life.bio.suny
sb.edu/marinebio/
coralreef.html
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/sitemap.htm
A coral reef is made of millions of tiny animals called coral
polyps. These coral polyps are nocturnal animals (the
move around at night). Corals produce “children” that are
called planulae. These children then drift across the ocean
to new shorelines where they settle and begin to grow.
This is the main way that Hawaiian coral reefs are spread
from place to place.
Coral reefs are referred to as the tropical rainforests of the
sea because of their dense layers of many unique
organisms.
the link “complex
system” within the
paragraph to see a
picture of a
“rainforest of the
sea.”)
9. What are the
different reef zones
and which abiotic
factors differ in
each? (Click here
and scroll down to
“Coral Reef
Zonation.)
10. How can corals
fool you?
11. Are there
different types of
coral reefs? (Click
on the link below;
then click on the
“Coral reefs” link in
the left margin.)
12. Can you think of
a local Hawaiian
coral reef
example?
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/splash/page.ht
m
http://www.coralre
efnetwork.com/re
efs/ecology/defaul
t.htm
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/splash/page.ht
m
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/splash/page.ht
m
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/splash/page.ht
m
13. Are there
different types of
coral? What are
they? (Click on the
following website;
then click on the
links under “Types
of corals.”)
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/sitemap.htm
14. Now that we
know that corals
are animals, who
are their closest
marine relatives?
(Click on the
following website;
then click on the
link “corals” to the
left under
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/splash/page.ht
m
There are 4 reef zones. These zones are related to the
depth of water surrounding them. For example, the zone
called the reef flat is 0-2 meters in depth, the reef bench is
2-10 meters in depth, the reef slope is 10-30 meters in
depth, and the rubble reef is 30-40 meters in depth.
Different environmental conditions can be found in the
zones such as wave action, salinity, and temperature.
Many reef organisms can survive only in a certain zone.
Corals can full you because you may think they are just a
bunch or rocks but they are actually a collection of marine
creatures. And watch out, they ARE ALIVE!
Yes, there are 4 different types of reefs: 1) fringing reefs;
2) barrier reefs: 3) patch reefs; and 4) atolls.
Kaneohe Bay on the island of Oahu is an example of the
fringing, patch and barrier reefs. Kaneohe Bay's barrier
reef is often questioned if it really is a "true" barrier reef. It
was not formed the same way as the Great Barrier Reef in
Australia, but scientists say it sure looks and acts like a
barrier reef.
Yes, there are two different types of corals, soft and stony.
In Hawai'i there are four common types of stony corals: the
lobe, cauliflower, finger, and rice corals.
Corals belong to a family that consists of jellyfish and sea
anemones.
“Galleries.”)
15. Reefs are very
dynamic and
diverse in their
plant and animal
content. Can you
name some of the
fish who live in
Hawaii’s coral
reefs? (Click here;
then click on the
fish to learn about
them.)
http://www.marine
lifephotography.c
om/fishes/fishes.h
tm
http://library.think
quest.org/J00223
7/discovery/snork
eltour.htm
Various answers include spectacled Parrotfish
(uhu’ahu’ula), squirrelfish, reef Triggerfish
(humuhumunukunukuapua’a), Fantail Filefish- ‘oli’uwi’uwi.