New Caledonia Barrier Reef
Marina Cables
A biome is a large area of the earth that contains plants and animals that live in a major
habitat. An example of a biome is a coral reef. In smaller areas of the biome, there are things
called ecosystems. An ecosystem is a community in a small area of the world that contains
organisms that interact with their physical environment to thrive and live peacefully. An example
of an ecosystem would be the New Caledonia Barrier Reef. Within ecosystems, there are things
called Abiotic factors. Abiotic factors are non-living factors, either physical are chemical, that
make up an environment. Abiotic factors affect an ecosystem because it determines what can and
cannot live in the certain area. Biotic factors are created by a living thing in the environment.
Biotic factors affect an ecosystem because it affects the life of another organism, for example a
predator consuming its prey. A density-dependent limiting factor is when in a large
ecosystem, populations that are denser are more affected more than smaller, less crowded ones.
Examples are diseases and competition between species. Density-independent limiting factors
are environmental elements that affect a population no matter the size. Examples are natural
disasters and certain human activities. These limiting factors can affect an ecosystem because
they can disrupt the life cycle and change what can and cannot live in the certain area.
New Caledonia
The New Caledonia Barrier Reef is the second largest barrier reef in the world, reaching
about 9,300 square miles. Inside this large reef, there are thousands of fish species and other
animals like turtles and sea birds. There are also other living organisms that inhabit this area.
This includes giant clams, hundreds of species of sponges and algae, and thousands of species of
crustaceans. There is also a marine mammal called dugongs that live within this habitat.
Some of the fish that can be found in the New Caledonia include sea bass and many
species from the families Labridae, Pomacentridae, Gobidae, Serrandiae, Chaetodontidae,
and Apogonidae.
What Lives There
Many kinds of animals and other organisms live in the New Caledonia Barrier Reef.
Some types of marine animals that live in the reef include giant clams, sponges, mollusks,
crustaceans, algae, dugongs, and thousands of kinds of fish. Although there are different types of
organisms, scientists are still discovering new species currently.
Types of fish that live in the New Caledonia Barrier Reef include wrasses, clown fish,
grouper, many types of goby fish, butterfly fish, and many types of cardinal fish. Other
organisms include two species of giant clam, over six hundred species of sponges, three hundred
and fifty kinds of algae, and over ten thousand species of mollusks and crustaceans. Some plants
that can be found in the New Caledonia
Every ecosystem consists of two groups: Producers and Consumers. Producers are the
organisms that make their own food by absorbing energy from the sun. The producers of an
ecosystem are usually micro-organisms and plants. Examples of producers from a coral
ecosystem are algae, plankton, sea grass and seaweed.
Consumers are further broken down into three groups: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary.
Consumers are the organisms that cannot make their own food by absorbing energy from the sun.
The consumers of an ecosystem are the animals that eat plants and sometimes other animals.
Examples of primary consumers from a coral ecosystem are mollusks and sponges. Organisms
that fall into the secondary consumer group are fish and crustaceans. Tertiary consumers that are
in a coral ecosystem include sharks and larger fish.
Food Chain
A Food Chain is a series of organisms in an ecosystem that depend on each other to
thrive. The food chain is broken down into five different groups: Predator/Prey, Competition,
Mutualism, Commensalism, and Parasitism.
Predator/Prey
A Predator/Prey Relationship is when the predator, usually organisms that are
carnivorous, has a corresponding ratio to its prey. This means that there are almost equal
numbers between predator and its prey. In a coral reef ecosystem, an example of a predator/prey
relationship is a shark and fish. The shark is the predator because it is carnivorous, and it eats
fish; therefore the fish is the prey. This relationship can be both beneficial to the environment
because it helps keep the fish populations at a manageable number. However, it can also be
detrimental to the environment because as long as there are a large number of fish in the
environment, many sharks will migrate to that certain area to feed.
Competition
Many living things have to compete against each other for something to live. This is
called Competition. In the New Caledonia Barrier Reef, an example of a completion relationship
would be the coral itself. Coral is made up of millions of tiny little organisms. There are many
types of coral, and all of them have one need in common: the desire to thrive in the environment.
Coral gets their energy from the sun, so naturally, they grow up towards it. Because coral wants
to be the most powerful, they try to kill off all the other species of coral by trying to fight them
off. This relationship can be detrimental to the environment because sometimes the coral releases
toxic chemicals that are used to fight the other coral into the water. The chemicals might then get
into fishes’ gills and poison them.
Mutualism
Mutualism is when two or more species of organisms rely on each other to live in an
environment. One example of mutualism in a coral reef would be a clown fish and a sea
anemone. Sea anemones can sting other organisms, but the clown fish is tolerant of its stinging
abilities. Since the sea anemone is a predator, is can eat things like crabs, shrimp, and sometimes
other fish. However, the clown fish will hang around the sea anemone and eat whatever it leaves
behind after a meal. In return, the sea anemone gives the clown fish protection from larger
animals that might want to eat it.
Commensalism
Commensalism is a relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits
from hanging around the other, and the other does not benefit nor get harmed. Basically, one
organism will gain something good whereas the other does not gain anything nor lose anything.
An example of commensalism in a coral reef ecosystem would be a shark and a sucker fish. The
sucker fish will follow closely to the shark, eating whatever the shark leaves behind after a
feeding. Also, the sucker fish gets protection by the shark from whatever eats sucker fish. The
shark does not gain or lose anything in return.
Parasitism
Parasitism is the relationship between two types of organisms that is beneficial to one
organism and is detrimental to the other. For instance, one organism would gain benefits to
hanging another organism, causing damage to the other organism. However, the damage is not
usually deadly. In a coral reef setting, an example of parasitism would be a fish with a marine
parasite. The parasite will benefit from this relationship because it gains nutrients from the fish.
The only thing the fish will gain is sickness. This relationship can be detrimental to the
environment because the parasite might spread to other organisms in the environment and get
them sick too. Also, the parasite might only affect one species of marine organism, and the
parasite might kill that species off.
Productivity Pyramid
Tertiary Consumers
-Shark
↓
Secondary Consumers
-Most Types of Fish
↓
Primary Consumers
-Mollusks and Sponges
↓
Producers
-Algae, Sea Grass, Plankton
All of the producers use
energy from the sun to make
their own food.
As you go from the bottom,
less energy from the sun is
used as a food source.
Population Pyramid
Populations of certain organisms are determined by how much of something is accessible
for it to survive. Here is a population pyramid to show how coral can survive, or die.
Rebuild
If the New Caledonia Barrier Reef ever had to rebuild after a natural disaster, they would
be able to do it very slowly. First, the reef would have to start with micro organisms. Next,
organisms that create coral would find a thing to cling onto and star t growing, using the sun and
the micro organisms to support themselves. Then, the small organisms like mollusks and
crustaceans would come to eat the coral and some micro organisms. After that, small fish would
find a way to the reef in search for something to eat, like the mollusks and crustaceans.
Following the fish, large predatory organisms like sharks and large fish would find their way to
the reef, wanting to eat the fish.
Human Impact on the Reef
Not just the New Caledonia Barrier Reef, but coral reefs all around the world are dying
because of human activity. Coral mining are damaging the reef by destroying the living places of
the fish, mollusks, and crustaceans and other organisms. Overfishing are causing the larger fish
to move away from the area, and allowing the smaller organisms to grow rapidly. If this kind of
activity keeps occurring, the beautiful coral reefs might cease to exist in the near future.
Works Cited
--http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Abiotic_factor
--http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Biotic_factors
--http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Density_dependent_limiting_factor
--http://drb-biology2011.wikispaces.com/-+Density-Independent+Limiting+Factors
--http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/newcaledonia_barrier_reef.cfm
--Google Pictures