reef
Polyps secrete calcium carbonate skeletons. This topic is part of Marine Life within Science & Nature. This page currently draws on 34 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
reef trivia questions
A coral reef is built mainly by what animals?
Answer: Coral polyps
Bonus fact: Polyps secrete calcium carbonate skeletons.
What process occurs when stressed coral loses its symbiotic algae?
Answer: Bleaching
Bonus fact: Bleached coral turns pale and is vulnerable.
What symbiotic algae live inside many reef-building corals and provide much of their energy?
Answer: Zooxanthellae
Bonus fact: Zooxanthellae are photosynthetic dinoflagellates that live within coral tissues.
What type of island forms from coral reefs surrounding a central lagoon?
Answer: Atoll
Bonus fact: Atolls often develop around subsiding volcanic islands in tropical seas.
What kind of lagoon forms inside a ring-shaped coral reef?
Answer: Atoll lagoon
Bonus fact: Atolls surround central lagoons.
Coral reefs are built mainly by tiny animals called what?
Answer: Polyps
Bonus fact: Coral polyps secrete calcium carbonate skeletons.
What algae live symbiotically inside many reef-building corals?
Answer: Zooxanthellae
Bonus fact: These algae provide much of the coral's energy.
Reef-building coral polyps secrete skeletons made mainly of what?
Answer: Calcium carbonate
Bonus fact: Their limestone skeletons build reefs over time.
The reef lies in what sea?
Answer: Coral Sea
Bonus fact: The Coral Sea borders Queensland.
The Great Barrier Reef is built mainly by colonies of what animals?
Answer: Coral polyps
Bonus fact: Polyps secrete calcium carbonate skeletons.
Reef-building corals commonly host what organisms in their tissues?
Answer: Photosynthetic algae
Bonus fact: The algae are often called zooxanthellae.
Which cleaner fish is especially famous on coral reefs?
Answer: Bluestreak cleaner wrasse
Bonus fact: It operates recognizable cleaning stations.