Answer Happy

Coral reefs are an important resource in South Florida, providing billions of dollars to our economy through tourism and fisheries, while also acting as a biodiversity hotspot and buffer against hurricanes. Corals are animals that have a symbiotic relationship with a photosynthetic dinoflagellate that lives within their cells. The dinoflagellate and coral exchange nutrients to survive. When the coral and/or dinoflagellate is stressed, the dinoflagellate will be expelled in a process called “bleaching” (so named because the corals are colorless without the symbiotic dinoflagellates). Corals eventually die after a period of bleaching. You are an intern with the BioCorps working for Biscayne Bay National Park. You want to investigate whether fishing acts as a stressor on coral reef systems. You choose three reefs: a reef in an exclusionary zone within the National Park (i.e., no boats), a reef near which people can drive their boats but not fish, and a reef near which people can both drive their boats and fish. You measured the area of bleached coral (cm²) for each reef. For each reef, sampling was conducted in random 1-m² plots. Based on observations of these three reefs, we could put forth the following question: Does coral bleaching differ among reefs with different levels of human activity? 12. For the study above, identify the following: (4 points) a. Population b. Sample c. Parameter d. Statistics 13. For the study above, identify the following: (3 points) a. Dependent variable b. Independent variable c. Is the independent variable categorical or numerical?