The ocean is home to millions of fish. Most of these fish do not swim freely around in the ocean all day without a home or protection. Almost 25% of fish in the ocean use coral reefs as their home and for protection. Fish use coral as a place to live, eat, and reproduce. Coral reefs are the ideal home for fish because the coral is strong and is said to be able to protect from the worst waves and natural disasters (WWF, n.d,). However, the ocean is heating up due to global warming and the coral is starting to erode.
Global warming is the heating of the planet due to the gasses that are being kept in by the atmosphere. The gasses being trapped are the rays that are supposed to be reradiated back into the atmosphere. These gasses are heating up the earth even more. The environment is being heated by global warming more than by usual UV rays. As a result, the ocean is absorbing a lot of the radiated gases from the atmosphere and causing it to heat up as well (NPR, 2010,).
This is all because of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse affect is when the gasses that heat up the earth are reradiated into space and become trapped in by the earth’s atmosphere. The gasses that were supposed to reradiate back out actually heat up the earth once again. The more heat that gets trapped the hotter the earth’s surface and atmosphere become (National Geographic, 1996-2010). The atmosphere is only able to hold so much heat and the ocean absorbs the rest. This attributes to the ocean heating up so fast. It’s absorbing all of the reradiated rays. The ocean is actually able to hold more heat than the atmosphere (EPA, 2006,). The ocean is able to hold more heat then the atmosphere is because the CO2 that the ocean takes in dissolves in the water and it turns into carbonic acid and dissociation products (HighBeam Research inc, 2010)
The experimental question is: Does heating up the temperature of the water around coral effect how fast the coral will erode? The independent variable used during this experiment is going to be temperature. A fish tank heater will heat the water with the coral. The ocean can be substituted by salt water that was being kept in a tank. As the temperature of the water heats, observations will be made on how the coral erodes in temperatures hotter than the average temperature of the ocean. The dependent variable is the erosion of coral. Data will be taken as to what happens to the coral when the water is heated for a prolonged period of time. The hypothesis is: if the temperature of the water changes around the coral then the coral will start to erode and die out. Since the coral I’m using is already dead it can no further die out however it will erode.
Coral is part of the kingdom animalia, the class of anthozoa and the phylum of cnidaria. The anthozoans class contains over 6,000 different species making anthozoans one of the largest classes of organism alive. Cnidaria make up sea creatures like: jellyfish, hydra, coral, and sea anemones. Cnidaria have tissue organization and very little amount of organ development (CoRIS, 2009). Cnidaria have two basic body forms medusa and polyp.
Coral is made up of polyps. Polyps have tube-like bodies. Polyps live by themselves or in groups with other polyps. Sometimes polyps have certain roles in the group in which they need to fulfill. For example, polyp in a group might be designated to reproduce, feed, or act as a defense mechanism (Animal Diversity, 1995- 2008,).
Every coral polyp has three basic tissue linings. The first is an outer epidermis, which is the outer layer of skin. It is the first line of defense against the environment. The second layer consists of cells lined in the gastrovascular cavity. This space inside the coral is used as its stomach where it dissolves food. The third layer, the mesoglea, is actually in between the lining of the epidermis and gastrovascular cell lining (CoRIS, 2009). Mesoglea acts as the bone structure for Cnidaria that do not have bones (Wikipedia, Mesoglea, 2010).
Every coral polyp has two of the same basic bone structure. One of these basic structure features is a gastrovascular cavity that opens on only one end. The second basic structure is its circle of tentacles around the gastrovascular cavity. The tentacles that surround the gastrovascular cavity are used for many different reasons. One reason is they help the coral capture plankton, which is a main food source for coral. Another reason is to help clear the debris and waste away from its mouth, and the third is to act as a defense from predators (CoRIS, 2009).
All coral polyps have symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae within their cells. Zooxanthellae have compounds needed for photosynthesis and use coral as protection from the environment. In return for protection the zooxanthellae gives coral the organic products it receives from photosynthesis like glycerol, amino acids, and glucose. The coral uses these products to make protein, fat, and carbohydrates thus keeping the coral alive and healthy. If the zooxanthellae die, the coral starts to lose its color. This is called coral bleaching (NOAA, march 2008). It has been suspected that the increase in temperature from global warming has accelerated the results of coral bleaching (Odyssey Expeditions, 1998).
In the experiment the two variables will be crushed coral as the dependent variable and water temperature as the independent variable. The biotic factor in this experiment is the coral. Crushed coral will be used because it represents a similar skeletal structure of the coral while it is not alive and therefore easier to maintain and test. However, even though crushed coral is being used the coral is still actually biotic. Since it was once a living organism it is still considered biotic. It is the remains of what was once a biotic creature. The abiotic factor in this experiment is the temperature. Since heat is not a living organism it is abiotic. In order to test the affect of water temperature on coral, a heater inside of the tank will control changing the temperature. This will help to reenact the process of global warming and see how it affects coral.
Ultimately the goal of this experiment is to show the relationship between the coral and global warming. It does this in a couple of ways. It shows how that the continuation of global warming is going to affect one of the main habitats of the ocean and what exactly is going to happen to the habitat once this happens. It also allows for scientific predictions. For example, if global warming is affecting the coral reef habitat it will most likely not just affect the coral reefs. It will also continue onto other life forms and habitats like seaweed. In addition, if the water temperature continues to get hotter another el niño or tsunami might occur. This would cause significant damage to the coral as the aftermath of the water retreating brings with it debris and chemical that kill the coral (Red Orbit, 2002-2009). These are all just possibilities as to what could happen.
This investigation is important for multiple reasons. The water in the ocean right now is heating up because of global warming. This is causing everything inside the water to adapt to the new heat. Coral however has to stay within the temperature degree range of 16-30°C (61-86°F). Global warming is pushing the temperature range out of 30°C. This is causing a lot more of the coral reefs to bleach out and die. This is leaving thousands of fish without a home and allows them to be preyed upon. The rise in temperature of the water is also going to become too hot for the fish to live and they will start to die off. This of course, affects humans who rely on the fish as a source of nutrition and income.
Another reason that this investigation is important is because it shows what will happen to coral once it bleaches. It will start to turn white and break into little brittle-like pieces. This experiment will show how long it takes for the pieces of coral to bleach and start to die out. It will also show how long it takes for coral to erode and how quickly it can happen. In other words, collecting this type of data can help to find alternative ways to save the coral.
In conclusion, this experimental investigation will ask the question: Does heating up the temperature of the water around coral effect how fast the coral will erode? And the hypothesis will be positively proven: if the temperature of the water changes around the coral then the coral will start to erode and die out.
Animal Diversity Web. (1995-2008). Phylum Cnidaria [Information on the class and types of Phylum Cnidaria]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cnidaria.html
CoRIS. (2009). Information on Coral. In CoRis [it is information on coral and there kind]. Retrieved January 14, 2010, from http://coris.noaa.gov/about/what_are/
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Epa. (2006). Green House Effect [information on how ocean is heated and the process]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/greenhouse.html
MacGillivray Freeman Films. (2003). Corals: an Overview. In Coral Reef Adventure [great information on things needed to be known about coral]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.coralfilm.com/about.html
National Geographic. (1996-2010). What is Global Warming [Information on global warming and how it affects the ocean]. Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-overview.html
NOAA National Ocean Service Education. (2008, March 25). Zooxanthellae… What’s That? [information on what Zooxanthellae does for coral]. Retrieved January 21, 2010, from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral02_zooxanthellae.html
Npr. (2010). The Mystery of global warming’s missing heat [Information on why the ocean is heating up]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88520025
Odyssey expeditions. (1998). Coral Reef Bleaching [the bleaching of coral reefs informaiton]. Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://www.marinebiology.org/coralbleaching.htm
Red Orbit. (2002-2009). Tsunami Battered Indian Ocean’s Coral Reefs [information on what tsunami does to coral]. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/117071/tsunami_battered_indian_oceans_coral_reefs/index.html
Wheeling Jesuit University. (2004, March 8). Coral Reefs [background information on the life of coral]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/coralreef/CRcoralreefs.html
Wikipedia. (2010). How many different species of fish live in the ocean [it explains about how many fish live in the ocean]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_different_species_of_fish_live_in_the_ocean
Wikipedia. (2010, January 24). Mesoglea [Information on what Mesoglea does for Cnidaria]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoglea
WWF. (n.d.). Coral Reefs [Information on the marine life of coral reefs]. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/coasts/coral_reefs/
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