Table of Contents

Coral Reef Cart Collection

Acknowledgments......

Cart Materials and Presentation......

Maple Cart and Collection Care......

Objectives of the Coral Reef Cart Collection......

Coral Biology......

Coral Reef Collection Specimens......

Themes and Concepts......

What is a Coral?......

Feeding Strategies......

Defensive Strategies......

Commensalism......

Coral predators......

Specimen Descriptions......

Porifera: Sponges......

Cnidarians: Octocorallia......

Alcyonacea: Soft Corals and Gorgonians......

Cnidarians: Hexacorallia......

Scleractinia: Stony Corals......

Mollusks: Gastropods......

Cone Snail......

Tiger Cowrie......

Murex......

Triton’s Trumpet......

Mollusks: Bivalves......

Tridacna Clam......

Mollusks: Cephalopods......

Cuttlefish

Chambered Nautilus......

Octopus......

Arthropods......

Hermit Crabs......

Echinoderms......

Sea Stars......

Sea Urchins......

Vertebrates: Cartilaginous Fishes......

Rays......

Sharks......

Vertebrates: Bony Fishes......

Parrotfishes......

Pufferfishes

Triggerfish......

Seahorses......

Appendix: In the Academy......

August 20101

Acknowledgments

The Coral Reef collection was created in the fall of 2008 to provide Academy docents the opportunity to showcase the new iconic Philippine Coral Reef Aquarium and to enhance the public’s understanding of the diversity of species associated with tropical coral reefs

Initial specimens in this collection were assembled as part of early coral reef training workshops, with the assistance of docents Ingrid Oyen and Delcey Watkins. Nancy Elenberger assumed primary responsibility for this collection in the fall of 2009, and we owe her special thanks for her enthusiastic contribution to the current specimen collection, supporting photos and diagrams, and more emphatically, for her extensive efforts in researching vetted sources for the material contained in this document. Additional thanks to Jill Ross-Kuntz, who developed the section on “Themes and Concepts.” Finally, always special thanks to Academy’s docent staff Kathleen Lilienthal and Velma Schnoll, whose constant guidance and support are critical to the maintenance of this collection.

New material was vetted by ______in 2010.

Jacqueline Craig

Cart Team Chair

Cart Materials and Presentation

GOAL
  • The goal of cart presentations is to engage visitors in exploration and discovery.
  • Cart Collection specimens are chosen for their attractiveness to the public, their availability, their teaching potential (both singly and/or combined with other specimens), and their durability and safety for handling.
  • Research has shown that visitors will have a more positive experience when they have personal interactions with a person representing the Academy.
PURPOSE
  • To stimulate curiosity and understanding by giving visitors a docent-guided opportunity to examine and learn from real specimens.
  • To offer a unique, engaging hands-on exploration.
  • To provide insight into Academy exhibits and concepts.
PRESENTING A CART
  • Place the cart where there is good light, high visibility, and doesn’t block pathways, emergency information, or fire apparatus (see map).
  • Look interested and eager – show that you want to talk with visitors.
  • Look outward to visitors rather than reading material.
  • Be enthusiastic – about the cart material, your theme, the Academy.
  • Stay with your cart. Get someone to stay with your cart if you need to take a break.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
  • Prepare in advance.
  • Choose a theme for which you have been trained and that can be supported by available specimens. (Cart binders include information describing themes for presenting specimens on the public floor.)
  • Study background information before presenting the cart.
  • Highlight only one or two concepts or themes.
  • Choose hands-on items that best support themes using no more than 4-6 specimens (only vetted specimens can be taken on to the pubic floor).
AFTER YOUR SHIFT
  • Replace materials in their proper boxes or shelf in the cart or cabinets.
  • Return support information or pictures to binder/files.
  • Lock and return cart/bins to proper location (maple carts should be turned so that rear of cart faces the floor and that mirror does not face the exterior).
  • Use Damage Specimen Report Form to report any missing/damaged specimens to Docent Program Staff (send email notice to cart monitor and leave a copy of report in the binder).

Coral Reef Cart Monitors:Nancy Ellenberger and Carrie O’Connell

Maple Cart and Collection Care

MAPLE CART COLLECTIONS

Maple Carts are stored at opposite ends of the Academy and should be turned with the drawers to the windows, but the mirror should be turned inward so that birds are not attracted.

  • Drawers should be locked when not in use.
  • Cart drawers are lined with appropriate drawer liners to reduce sliding as drawers and cart are moved.
  • Each drawer contains labels indicating where specimens are stored.
  • Specimens should be returned to appropriate drawers after cart presentation.
  • Fragile specimens should be returned to their labeled boxes or wrapped in bubble wrap.
OTHER CART COLLECTIONS
  • Several cart collections are stored in various locked cabinets in the first level.
  • Maple carts may be used to present these specimens when maple cart collections are not being presented by another docent.
  • Specimens must be returned to locked cabinets after use.
FABRIC

Cart fabric is provided in the day lounge to cover tops of carts. This is to reduce sliding of specimens on cart surface and to give a consistent presentation to the public.

DEMONSTRATION STATIONS

Demonstration stations may also be used for displaying collections. Specimens may be placed on top of table. Demonstration stations may require cleaning before storing.

Objectives of the Coral Reef Cart Collection

  • Provide the visitor an opportunity for an active and interactive experience—at all age levels.
  • Provide the visitor with an opportunity to engage in conversations and to ask questions related to the coral reef environment.
  • Provide an introduction to the complex coral reef community
  • Provide specific information about specimens of the collection, as well as about live coral reef organisms in other parts of the Academy and to encourage the visitor to look for these organisms.
  • Encourage the visitor to have an interest in coral reefs beyond the Academy experience.

Coral Biology[1]

Corals are cnidarians (also known as coelenterates), and are related to hydroids, jellyfish, box jellies, and sea anemones. Corals in these tanks include:

  • Hexacorallia – the hard (stony) corals are perhaps the best-known group, as they secrete calcium carbonate skeletons and are the reef-builders. They have six tentacles (or multiples of six).
  • Octocorals - the soft corals have eight tentacles and lack an external skeleton, having instead internal skeletons consisting of separate, unfused spicules of calcium carbonate within their tissues or with axes of a dark protein called gorgonin.
  • Hydrocorals – these include the fire or stinging, corals. They are not true corals (they occupy a different class “Hydrozoa”). Although they look like real corals, they are more closely related to jellyfish and other stinging anemones.

Cnidarians are characterized by having alternating lifestyles, existing either as a polyp, the sessile attached stage, or as a medusa, the free-floating jellyfish-like stage.

  • Most corals are colonial, often living in communities of astonishing numbers of individuals, though a few forms, such as the mushroom coral, are solitary.
  • All corals have supporting structures, formed of calcium carbonate or of a fibrous protein or both.

The coral polyp is a relatively simple organism with a hollow, cylindrical structure, its bottom end attached to its skeleton in the case of stony corals, or in the case of octocorals, to the substrate. At the upper end is a single opening surrounded by tentacles armed with specialized stinging structures, called nematocysts, used to paralyze prey. This opening functions both as mouth and anus, ingesting food and excreting waste.

  • Coral shapes and sizes vary greatly among species.
  • General appearance varies from boulder-like spheres of brain coral to the branching staghorn, and beyond that to the plate-like elkhorn.
  • Soft corals are more flexible, often waving gracefully in the currents.
  • Morphology is often affected by depth, and exposure to light and currents.
Mutualistic Relationship: zooxanthellae

In the photic zone, light penetrates to fuel the photosynthesis of symbiotic algae, a species of dinoflagellates collectively called zooxanthellae, that live within the corals’ tissue. The relationship between coral and algae is mutualistic, benefiting both partners and is the driving force behind the productivity of the reef system.

  • Corals provide zooxanthellae with protected living space and nutrients necessary for photosynthesis.
  • A significant part of coral nutrition is provided by their algal symbionts that produce sugars and amino acids used by the coral to manufacture the proteins and complex carbohydrates to fuel its activities.
  • The algae are so productive that up to 90% of the organic material they manufacture is available to and used by their coral hosts
  • The algae enrich the waters of the reef with oxygen, their photosynthetic by-product.

The health of stony corals and their ability to secrete sufficient CaCO3 is dependent on the energy produced by their tiny partners. The very existence of coral reefs relies on this relationship.

Much of the color of reef corals is usually created not by the coral itself, but by the various species of zooxanthellae, which typically range from yellow, to brown, and green. The few species with bright colors such as red, orange and yellow generally do not harbor zooxanthellae.

All hard corals, fire corals, and many octocorals maintain this symbiotic relationship.

Coral Reproduction

Sexual reproduction

  • During sexual reproduction, some species produce eggs that are fertilized internally and brooded either inside or outside the parent.
  • Many species broadcast both eggs and sperm, usually with timing synchronized within the entire colony or even with reefs in the general vicinity, to ensure cross-fertilization. Planktonic larvae are then dispersed in the currents, and the few that survive predation and other misfortune develop into the polyp stage if they successfully settle on a suitable reef or other substrate.
Asexual reproduction
  • Corals also reproduce by budding. When it reaches a certain size, the parent polyp divides, producing a clone that expands the original colony or begins a new colony.
  • Because of clonal reproduction, many individuals in a coral community are genetically identical, a condition that persists over long periods of time.

Coral Reef Collection Specimens

August 20101

Porifera

Venus flower basket sponge

Sponge from Jamaica

Misc. sponge

Cnidarians: Octocorallia (soft corals)

Common sea fan

Misc. Gorgonia

Cnidarians: Hexacorallia (hard corals)

Brain coral

Mushroom coral

Pocillopora

Turbinaria reniformis

Mollusks: Gastropods

Misc.cone snail

Tiger cowrie shell

Misc. murexshell

Triton’s trumpet

Mollusks: Bivalves

Tridacna clam (ruffled?)

Mollusks: Cephalopods

Cuttlefish bone and

dwarf cuttlefish bones

Full nautilus shell and

sliced nautilus shells

Octopus’ beak

Arthropods

Hermit crabs

Echinoderms: Sea Stars

Blue linkia sea star

Chocolate chip sea star

Echinoderms: Urchins

Pencil urchin

Misc. test (?)

Vertebrates: Cartilaginous Fishes

Ray barbs

Sand shark jaw

Vertebrates: Bony Fishes

Parrotfish lower jaw

Porcupine fish spines

Porcupinefish

Triggerfish skull

Triggerfish skeleton

Seahorses

August 20101

Themes and Concepts

What is a Coral?

Specimens

Hard corals

colonial (Pocillopora, brain coral, Turbinaria)

solitary (mushroom coral)

Soft coral (gorgonian)
Supporting materials

diagram of coral structure.

photographs of various coral species.

General Information

See earlier section, “Coral Biology,” page 5.

Things to Notice/Facts to Share

  • Stony structure of hard coral is composed of calcium carbonate. These are reef-building corals. Note the diversity of shapes. Coral shapes are influenced by their surroundings and the energy of their water environment. Examples of corals in high energy environments are brain or mushroom corals. Finely branched corals typically inhabit low energy environments.
  • Gorgonian and sea fan are soft corals with skeletons composed of a protein called gorgonin or calcium carbonate spicules. This allows for flexibility in a high-energy environment.
  • Multiple, small holes in Pocillopora and Turbinaria are where each individual polyp in the colony lived. When feeding, the polyps emerge from the holes, and the entire living colony covers the calcium carbonate shell. (See diagrams and photographs).
  • Brain coral has valleys and ridges. The polyps reside in the valleys.
  • Compare colonial coral specimens to solitary mushroom coral that consists of a single organism. When its tentacles emerge, it resembles a sea anemone. Since it is only one animal, it has only one mouth.

Feeding Strategies

Carnivorous Organisms

Specimens

August 20101

hard coral

sandbar shark jaw

triggerfish skull

octopus beak

Linkia seastar

chocolate chip sea star

murex shells

Triton’s Trumpet shell

cone snail shell

sea horses

August 20101

Supporting materials

photographs of organisms

shark models

Things to Notice/Facts to Share

  • Corals have tentacles with stinging cells called nematocysts. They catch small fish and zooplankton using these stinging cells. At night the coral polyps emerge for feeding.
  • Shark jaw. The teeth are not lodged permanently within the jaw, but are attached to a membrane known as a tooth bed. The tooth bed is like a conveyor belt, moving the rows of teeth forward as the shark grows, thus replacing older teeth that have become damaged, fallen out or worn down.
  • Octopus beak. Diet is mainly crustaceans and molluscs, plus fish and other octopuses. The octopus uses its beak to drill into the shell of its prey. It secretes a toxin that paralyses the prey and begins to dissolve it. The shell is pulled apart and the prey is consumed. Note: the cuttlefish and Nautilus are also carnivorous cephalopods.
  • Sea stars. They feed on molluscs, using their tube feed to pry open the shell a little. Then they insert their stomach into the shell and digest the organism externally.
  • Triggerfish. Uses strong teeth to consume sponges, molluscs and crustaceans.
  • Cone snail. Uses its harpoon-like radula to inject venom into its prey, typically another cone snail. An extension of its shell acts like a rifle barrel. Researchers have discovered that certain chemicals in cone snail venom have the potential to treat chronic pain, cancer and other afflictions. One synthetic drug developed may be a thousand times more effective than morphine without any of its addictive properties.
  • Murex and Triton’s trumpet are carnivorous snails. They bore a hole in the shell or outer covering of their prey in order to consume it. Murex snails eat other molluscs. Triton’s trumpet snails eat sea stars, including the Crown of Thorns sea star, and release a paralysing saliva to subdue their prey.
  • Sea horses. Their long snout can only open at the tip. It feeds on small organisms by opening its mouth to create suction that draws its prey into its mouth.

Filter Feeders

Specimens

August 20101

gorgonian coral

sponges

ruffled clam shell

August 20101

Supporting materials

photographs of organisms

manta ray model

Things to Notice/Facts to Share

  • Sponges. Sponges are primitive, sessile, mostly marine, aquatic filter feeders that pump water through their bodies to filter out particles of food matter.
  • Ruffled clam. Clams are filter feeders, ingesting nutritious plankton and micro-organisms that are pumped in and out through “siphons”.
  • Gorgonian corals are considered filter feeders because they turn their “fan” so that it is oriented across the prevailing current. This facilitates the catching of plankton and particulate matter.
  • Manta rays are large rays averaging 22 feet wide. They are found in tropical waters and eat microscopic plankton, small fish and tiny crustaceans. Manta rays filter-feed in open water by funneling food into their mouth while they swim, using two large, flap-like cephalic lobes that extend forward from the eyes. They have a short tail and no stinging spine.

Herbivores

Specimens

August 20101

pencil sea urchin

cowrie shell

parrotfish jaw

August 20101

Supporting materials

photographs of organisms

Things to Notice/Facts to Share

  • Pencil sea urchin. Sea urchins graze on algae using a specialized mouth part called Aristotle’s lantern. This organ is located on the underside of the urchin and is made up of five carbonate teeth with a fleshy tongue-like structure within.
  • Cowrie snail. This snail grazes on algae using its sandpaper-like radula.
  • Parrotfish. This fish uses its parrot-like jaws to rasp algae from coral and other substrates (bioerosion). It is considered to be herbivorous but will eat a variety of reef organisms including coral polyps. After digestion, it excretes the broken down rock as sand, thus creating small islands and sandy beaches. One fish can produce 90 kg of sand per year. The teeth grow continuously.

Interpretation Ideas