Marine Biology
Coral Reefs: Biodiversity and Beauty at RiskDr. Mark
McGinleyProfessor, Head of Science UnitCore Curriculum and General
Education OfficeLingnan [email protected]
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Planet Earth
Planet Earth??
Whats down there?
Coral Reefs
Footage by Josh Jensen, Undersea Productions
10What is a Coral?
13Coral Polyps
Coral Asexual Reproduction
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16Coral Skeleton
Branching Corals
Brain and Boulder Corals
Plate and Table Corals
Terrestrial Environment is Dominated by Plants
But These Are All Animals.Where Are All of the Plants???
24Types of Coral Reefs- Atolls
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Types of Coral Reefs- Barrier Reef
Coral Reefs
Thickest reef about 1.5 km thick!
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Coral Wall
Big Things Built By Humans
Largest Biogenic StructureGreat Barrier Reef
Coral Reef Distribution
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Lionfish
Lionfish- Caribbean Sea
Parrotfishes
Parrotfish Sleeping
Parrotfish beak
Parrotfish eliminating wastes
Biogenic Sand
Stoplight Parrotfish
Great Barracuda
Barracuda with cleaners
Cleaner Shrimp
Cleaning Stations
Cleaner Wrasse
Relationship Between Cleaner and ClientOriginally, thought to be
a mutualistic relationshipBoth partners benefitCleaner gets
foodClient is cleaned of parasitesAfter further study, scientists
realize that this system is much more complicatedSometimes the
cleaner eats the parasites and other times it bites the client fish
and removes scales, skin, etc.!!Cheaters!
What Would You Do?
What Should a Client Fish do if a Cleaner Fish Takes a Bite Out
of Them??
Client Fish can be Smart!!
They remember when a cleaner fish bites them rather than
cleaning them and respond byNot returning to that cleaning
stationNot allowing that individual fish clean them any moreTry to
punish cheaters
Clients Can Learn!!
Cleaner Fish Can Be Pretty Smart TooWhether a cleaner will cheat
or not depends on who is watchingLess likely to cheat if other
potential client fish are watchingMore likely to cheat if there are
no potential client fish around.
Benefits of Coral ReefsCoral reefs provide 233 billion HKD to
1,300 Billion HKD of goods and services each yearWWF & SI
Benefits of Coral ReefsFisheries
About one billion people depend, at least partially, on coral
reefs for food and income from fishing. Reefs can yield around 15
tonnes of fish and other seafood per square kilometre each
year.WWF
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Benefits of Coral Reefs Shoreline Protection
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Benefits of Coral ReefsTourism
Florida Keys 23 billion HKD annually Australias Great Barrier
Reef generates well over 7 billion HKD per year.WWF
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Benefits of Coral ReefsMedicinesTreatments for cardiovascular
diseases, ulcers, leukemia, lymphoma, and skin cancer, based on
from chemicals in reef plants and animals. More than half of all
new cancer drug research focuses on marine organisms.bioprospecting
Corals unique skeletal structure has been used to make
bone-grafting materials.Coral Reef Alliance
Benefits of Coral ReefsIntrinsic Value
Although coral reefs cover
