Eduqas A-Level Geography A110QS
Coastal LandscapesLandscape
Glaciated LandscapesLandscape
Changing Places
Water and Carbon Cycles
Global Migration
Global Governance of the Oceans
Tectonic Hazards
EcosystemsContemporary theme
Economic Growth and Challenge: IndiaContemporary theme
Economic Growth and Challenge: ChinaContemporary theme
Development in an African ContextContemporary theme
Energy Challenges and DilemmasContemporary theme
Weather and ClimateContemporary theme
Geographical Skills
Coastal Landscapes
Coral reefs and mangrove coastlines
- 2 things to know
- Component 1 Section A
Overview
Coral polyp, symbiotic relationship that allows coral to grow and fringing reef.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Explain the symbiotic relationship that allows coral to grow.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a coral polyp?
Model answer
A coral polyp is a small marine animal that secretes a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate. Colonies of polyps build up over centuries to form a reef.
- 2
Explain the symbiotic relationship that allows coral to grow.
Model answer
Algae called zooxanthellae live inside the polyp's tissue and photosynthesise. The algae supply the polyp with sugars and the polyp supplies them with shelter and nutrients.
- 3
What water temperature do reef-building corals require?
Model answer
Reef-building corals need water between about 23 °C and 29 °C. Growth stops if temperatures fall much below 18 °C.
- 4
Why must coral reefs grow in shallow water?
Model answer
The zooxanthellae need sunlight to photosynthesise. Most reef growth is therefore confined to the top 25 m of the water column.
- 5
What salinity and water clarity do corals need?
Model answer
Corals need salinity of roughly 30 to 36 parts per thousand and clear, sediment-free water. Suspended sediment smothers the polyps and blocks the light.
- 6
Why are corals absent from the mouths of large rivers?
Model answer
River water is fresh and heavily laden with sediment. Fresh water and sediment together kill the polyps, so a gap appears in the reef opposite a river mouth.
Other ways to work this
The same content, four other ways.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Every question in Coastal Landscapes, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.