Coral Comeback: The Coral and the Algae

3 minutes 14 seconds

Now Playing As: Captioned (English) (change)

What are coral? They are part animal, vegetable, and mineral. These marine invertebrates typically live in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Corals species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. Part of the "Coral Comeback" series.

Media Details

Runtime: 3 minutes 14 seconds

Topic: Science
Subtopic: Biology, Marine Life, Oceanography
Grade/Interest Level: 7 - 12
Standards:

Release Year: 2015
Producer/Distributor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Series: Coral Comeback

Video Web Page Series Website

Close up of globular coral with a striped tropical fish swimming in front. Caption: We will learn how super corals are being developed in the lab,

Towering coral reef with swimming fish as seen from below against the ocean surface. Caption: (narrator) But the whole reef system is in incredible danger.

Extreme closeup of the cell structure of coral showing rectangular shape in the center of textured cell material. Labeled, (algae) ZooXanthellae. Caption: Zooxanthallae live inside some of the coral's cells.

Close up of waves on the shore. Caption: it is dramatically changing the chemistry of the ocean.

Flat, fan shaped, leaf-like structures grow off coral while a person in scuba gear swims by. Caption: Much of their oxygen comes off the coral reef.

Generally spherical white coral consisting of countless individual arm segments on the ocean floor. Caption: and the solution of their rescue might be within.

Jagged shoreline with rough waves and plant life growing at the crest of the rocky peaks. Caption: ocean acidity will double by century's end

Coral reef with a variety of marine plant and animal life. Caption: The goal is to restore the coral reef

Gloved hand reaching into a small tank to pick up a piece of white coral being grown on a disc. Caption: that fight some of the worst infectious bacteria.