Questions:
1. What is the name of the coral reef system that was in the news most recently for a significant bleaching event? Hint: It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981.
2. ______ ___________ is the leading cause of coral bleaching. The phenomenon is called so because when the cause plays out, the corals expel the zooxanthellae living in their tissues and turn white or some pale colour. Fill in the blanks.
3. The creatures primarily responsible for building reefs are called coral ______. Fill in the blank with the name of a group of animals under the phylum Cnidaria. They are sac-like creatures that are attached to some surface (or other polyps) with the free end bearing a mouth surrounded by small tentacles.
4. This Australia-based marine scientist, who began with research work on coral reefs in the Caribbean in the 1970s, is widely considered to be the foremost authority on coral reefs. For his efforts to protect coral reefs, Nature dubbed him the “reef sentinel” in 2016. Name the scientist.
5.Coral reefs, particularly those in shallow, coastal waters, are biodiverse and help protect coastlines from erosion. For this reason, they also go by another name. What is it?
Visual:
This place in Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean provides sanctuary and protects extensive coral reefs, including some of the oldest and largest Porites coral heads in the world. Name it.
Answers:
1. Great Barrier Reef
2. Rising temperature
3. Polyps
4. Terry Hughes
5. ‘Rainforests of the sea’
Visual: National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa
