Scientists shocked to find coral reef in murky waters off Iraq
Summary:
Recently, scientists
The discovery of more than half a dozen marine species in these suspended-sediment rich waters is shocking because scientists formerly believed it was impossible for delicate organisms such as coral to survive in such unsuitable conditions. Apparently coral are better at adapting than originally thought by marine biologists. There were stony corals, sun coral and octocorals found in the reef. Among the reef were not only corals but also sponges. To find sponges in the waters off the Iraqi Coast was equally surprising as finding corals. Sponges too were thought, until now, to be too delicate to survive in high sediment and nutrient environments.
Scientists will continue to study the reefs near the cost of Iraq and other "extreme reef systems" in order to understand possible adaptations which marine species may undergo in the future. With earth's climate changing, biologists are curious about the ways in which animals will adapt to deal with these environmental alterations.
Relevance:
This article is relevant to multiple units which have studied so far this year. It is relevant to our ecosystems unit because the main emphasis of the article is that, despite the severe conditions of it's environment, coral and sponges have managed to thrive. Our ecosystems unit discussed pollution and the effects it can have on the organisms in a habitat. Also, these reefs are helping scientists learn about how marine species will adapt to climate change. Global warming and the greenhouse effect were also discussed in our ecosystems unit.
Another unit to which this article relates is our evolution of life unit. This article is relevant to the unit because the coral and sponges in the reef have managed to adapt to sediment rich conditions which would normally make the coast uninhabitable to them. Our unit on the evolution of life covered adaptations which organisms use to survive in conditions which were once may not have been favorable.
The final unit which relates to this article is our microbes unit. Because coral reefs are involved in a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthella algae. The zooxanthella live with coral polyps. The algae provide the coral polyps with nutrients from photosynthesis while the polyps supply the algae with carbon dioxide and other necessary substances. We covered protists such as the zooxanthella algae in our microbes unit. Since the article is mostly about coral then the symbiotic relationship of coral and zooxanthella is relevant.
Author: Karen Kaplan
Date Published: 3/8/2014
What adaptations did the coral undergo to adapt to the unstable conditions in the water off Iraq?
ReplyDeleteThe article doesn't say exactly what adaptations the coral have undergone, but they must have become hardier and more tolerant of the high sediment concentrations. There is oil and other pollution off the Iraqi coast as well as extreme temperature variation that coral would not usually be able to withstand. This implies that the coral have somehow adapted to handle these uniquely unhealthy conditions.
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