Classroom Questions

Questions for ‘Parrotfish shape the future of coral reefs, one bite at a time’ 

two different types of parrotfish swim just above a coral reef

A midnight parrotfish (front) and rainbow parrotfish (center) are eating on Alacranes Reef in the Mexican Caribbean. This area has small living corals, sea fans and large spans of algae-covered reef.

L. Alvarez-Filip

By Science News Explores

To accompany ‘Parrotfish shape the future of coral reefs, one bite at a time’

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

  1. To the best of your knowledge, explain how a coral reef is built over time.
  2. Scientists sometimes take “core samples” of ice or sediment for analysis. Explain how taking core samples might help answer questions about what types of changes have taken place in something over time. Support your explanation with a simple sketch, emphasizing how layers in the sediment or ice core might lead researchers to draw conclusions.

During Reading:

  1. Approximately what percent of marine life lives in coral reefs?
  2. Describe two ways algae can affect coral growth.
  3. What mineral makes up most of the hard structure of a coral reef?
  4. What are the names of the largest and the second largest coral reefs in the world?
  5. What is a gravity corer used for?
  6. Which is bigger — a human tooth or a parrotfish tooth? Approximately how long in millimeters is a parrotfish tooth?
  7. What evidence suggested to researchers that the population of parrotfish in the Caribbean has declined since the 1700s?
  8. What are trace fossils? Describe a distinctive trace fossil left behind by parrotfish.
  9. What is bioerosion?
  10.  Besides parrotfish populations, what other “big problem” confronts coral reefs, according to Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip?

After Reading:

  1. In a direct relationship, as one factor increases, another increases or decreases along with it. For example, the deeper you go in the ocean, the greater the pressure. Give one example of a direct relationship described in this story. (Hint: You could consider a factor such as population size of parrotfish or algae and any impacts such populations might have on other life. Or, consider and discuss how increases in nutrient levels in the water might affect other aquatic life in that ecosystem.) Draw a simple line graph to support your answer. No units or numbers are required in your graph. Instead, label the x- and y-axes with each factor, and use an arrow to show how values change.
  2. What event killed off coral near the Caribbean island of Bonaire in 2010? How did researchers explain the relatively quick recovery of the Bonaire coral? Imagine similar events affecting coral populations in reefs near Belize — once in 1700 and again in 2025. Based on what you have read in this story, do you predict coral recovery in 2025 would be greater than, less than or about the same as coral recovery in 1700? Explain your answer. Point to evidence from this story to support your answer.