Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the effects of abiotic factors on the composition of plant and animal communities in aquatic biomesCompare and contrast the characteristics of the ocean zonesSummarize the characteristics of standing water and flowing water freshwater biomes

Students will create a mural of a coral reef environment in the classroom. There will be many materials available in which to create 1-2 examples of their favorite parts of the coral reef.

In this video, Jonathan examines the biology of coral reefs and their importance to the marine ecosystem. Please see the accompanying lesson plan that discusses pH and ocean acidification for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.

The major goal of this lesson is to provide students with some of the tools they will need to analyze and solve the many complex problems they will face during their lifetimes. In the lesson, students learn to use Flow Charts and Feedback Diagrams to analyze a very complex problem of ecological sustainability. The lesson looks at a specific case study—from my home town in the Philippines—of the Live Reef Fish Trade now threatening survival of the Coral Reef Triangle of Southeast Asia. Live reef fish have long been traded around Southeast Asia as a luxury food item, but in recent decades trade in fish captured on coral reefs has expanded rapidly. Although the trade has provided communities with additional income, these benefits are unsustainable and have come at considerable cost to the environment. This lesson begins by having students analyze a familiar or personal problem, using Flow Charts and Feedback Diagrams, and then moves on to the application of those tools to a complex environmental problem. The lesson could be completed in a 50-minute class session, but using it over two class sessions would be preferable. Everything needed for the lesson is downloadable from the BLOSSOMS website, including blank Flow Charts and Feedback Diagrams, as well as articles on the Philippines case study from the World Wildlife Fund and the United States Agency for International Development.

Species extinction is happening at an alarming rate according to scientists. In this lesson, students are asked to consider why extinction is a problem that we should concern us. They are taught that destruction of habitat is the main reason many species are threatened. The lesson explores ways that engineers can help save endangered species.

Students create a kelp forest or coral reef food web, then research related shark species to learn about species interactions. Posters illustrate the shark̢ĺŰĺŞs role as key predator in the ecosystem.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Coral reefs are important ocean ecosystems. However, they have been declining in recent years due to human activities, including elevated nitrate in the water. Corals maintain complex relationships with numerous microbes, including the dinoflagellate algae Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria. To better understand the impact of nitrate on coral and their resident microbes, researchers recently examined coral and microbial gene expression changes in larval Pocillopora damicornis. Under elevated nitrate conditions, the Symbiodiniaceae algae generally hoarded more nutrients for its own growth. Normally Symbiodiniaceae share nutrients with the coral, so this was a shift from a mutualistic relationship to a parasitic one, which led to impaired development in the larval coral. However, the prokaryotic microbes might reduce this negative interaction by restraining Symbiodiniaceae growth, which partially restores coral larval development..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Coral reefs off the west coast of Maui are readily accessible and heavily used by visitors and locals alike. Managers needed a plan to boost the resilience of the reefs so they could continue providing critical habitat for marine species.

In this presentation, we will discuss how tourism development affects the coral reefs and in continuation of this, we will examine the Crown-of-Thorn Starfish invasion around Zanzibar. Reefs sustain human society, such as fishermen's livelihood and they are also a key asset for the tourist industry. However, the reefs are also under pressure from a range of human induced stresses, including the expanding tourism.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Coral reefs are critical to the survival of ocean species. These richly diverse habitats support almost one-third of the world’s marine coastal species. But in addition to environmental concerns, they can also be affected by predators. One such predator is the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), which threatens Indo-Pacific coral reef ecosystem integrity and biodiversity. While some aspects of the species’ biology have been studied intensively, little is known about its associated microbiota. In a recent study, researchers evaluated bacteria associated with 205 COTS samples from 17 locations in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Using DNA sequencing, they determined that one bacterial species – which they termed COTS27 – dominates. The bacterium forms a biofilm-like structure in the subcuticular space, between the cuticle and epidermis and its genome includes traits related to adaptation to marine environments and evolution as a symbiont in subcuticular spaces..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students will use a variety of materials to create a mural of a coral reef environment. Video and PDF links are also included. Users are encouraged to remix the lesson to fit own needs and to keep up to date.

WhyReef is a virtual reef where boys and girls from all over the world can dive into a virtual coral reef and discover the amazing marine life that dwells within. Become coral reef scientists and keep track of fish, coral, turtles, and other reef creatures!