This immersive CD-ROM explores every aspect of the coral reef community. Hundreds of color photos and detailed line drawings complement the disc’s text, and numerous diagrams, tables, and graphs are also included—many of them interactive, such as phylogenetic trees, a map of global reef distribution, and a geologic timeline of marine community development.
This CD-ROM is divided into six main sections:
• "Reef Formation" introduces coral reefs, offering specifics on their composition, which organisms contribute to them, the origin and evolution of phylum Cnidaria, basic coral biology, and coral polyp/zooxanthellae symbiosis
• "Reef Types" distinguishes among fringing reefs, coral cays, platform reefs, barrier reefs, lagoons, and atoll reefs, contrasting Darwin’s and Daly’s theories of reef development
• "Reef Distribution" identifies the locations of coral reefs around the world and the conditions for coral growth
• "Reef Communities" examines reef-related vertebrates, invertebrates, algae, cyanobacteria, and plants
• "Reef Ecosystems" studies the producers, consumers, and reducers that populate the reef biome’s food web
• "Reef Degradation" increases awareness of major causes of reef damage—severe weather, seismic and volcanic activity, human impacts, and global climate change
Coral Reefs also includes six feedback-giving multiple-choice quizzes and an educational electronic board game for up to four players that illustrates the challenges of coral reef management.
A valuable self-contained module ideal for independent study in the areas of biology, environmental studies, and earth science.
System requirements:
• PC platform: Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, or XP.
• Macintosh platform: OS X or OS 8.6+ with CarbonLib 1.6.
Can be used with both Windows and Macintosh. Networkable.