GIZMO CORAL REEFS 1-ABIOTIC FACTORS -ALL ANSWERS CORRECT-GRADED A

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Student Exploration: Coral Reefs 1 – Abiotic Factors Vocabulary: consumer, coral, coral bleaching, coral reef, filter feeder, food chain, food web, grazer, nutrients, ocean acidification, pH, p... lankton, predator, producer, sediment, zooxanthellae Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) 1. Look at the graph to the right. What does it show? Percentage of coral cover in Caribbean Reefs. It shows a decline over time. 2. Why do you think corals have declined since 1977? People are killing and selling them. Gizmo Warm-up Coral reefs are some of the most diverse habitats on Earth, home to over a quarter of all marine species. The Coral Reefs Gizmo™ provides a simplified model of interactions among 10 key species in Caribbean reefs. In the Coral Reefs 1 exploration, you will focus on the effects of environmental factors on Caribbean reefs. 1. Click Advance year 10 times. Look carefully at the composition of the reef over time. Do you see any major changes? The reef stayed consistent. 2. Select the DATA tab. Check that Staghorn coral, Star coral, Sponges, and Algae are selected. Populations are given as a percentage of normal populations. What do you notice about these populations? Sponges poulation goes up while the others don't. 3. On the right side of the Gizmo, select the SUMMARY tab. In a healthy reef, what are the values for Nutrient load, Water clarity, Coral cover, and the total number of fish species? Nutrient load: 4 ppt Water clarity: 94% Coral cover: 49% Total fish species: 442 FINISH ACTIVITY A TODAY Activity A: The Caribbean reef ecosystem Get the Gizmo ready: • On the CONDITIONS tab, click Return to original settings. Click Restart. • Select the CORAL REEF tab. Introduction: A healthy Caribbean reef is home to over 50 species of coral and over 400 fish species. In this simplified model, we only consider the interactions of ten important species. Question: How do different species [Show More]

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