Coral reef formation, coral types, and reef-dwelling species, distinct from the open-water focus of Marine Life Basics and the nearshore focus of Seashells and Tide Pool Life.
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- What tiny marine animals build the hard calcium carbonate structures that form coral reefs?
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Coral polyps- What symbiotic algae, living within coral tissue, gives coral its color and provides most of its energy through photosynthesis?
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Zooxanthellae- What term describes coral losing its color when it expels its symbiotic algae under stress, often from heat?
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Coral bleaching- What type of reef grows directly attached to a shoreline, with no lagoon separating it from land?
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A fringing reef- What type of reef runs parallel to a coastline but is separated from it by a lagoon?
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A barrier reef- What is the largest coral reef system in the world, located off the northeast coast of Australia?
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The Great Barrier Reef- What ring-shaped reef, often surrounding a lagoon, forms around a sinking volcanic island?
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An atoll- What coral growth form is branching and fast growing, resembling antlers, common on reef crests?
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Staghorn coral- What coral growth form is rounded and slow growing, sometimes living for centuries?
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Brain coral (a massive/boulder coral form)- What term describes coral species that build hard, reef-forming skeletons, as opposed to soft coral?
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Hard coral (stony coral)- What coral type lacks a rigid calcium skeleton and instead has a flexible, often colorful, fleshy structure?
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Soft coral- What fish species, known for their bright coloring, are commonly found sheltering among anemones on reefs, made famous by an animated film?
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Clownfish- What large, slow-moving reef reptile grazes on seagrass near coral reef ecosystems?
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The sea turtle (especially the green sea turtle)- What venomous, spiny reef fish, with striking stripes, is an invasive species in the Atlantic threatening native reef fish populations?
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The lionfish- What small, colorful reef fish group, popular in aquariums, includes damselfish and wrasses?
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Reef fish broadly, though damselfish and wrasses are specific colorful families
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