Question

Most coral reefs are found near the equator between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of capricorn. however, there are some species of coral that are found in the aphotic zone. one of the greatest differences between deep water coral and tropical coral is that deep water coral lack zooxanthellae. provide an argument for why deep water coral do not contain the algae.

Answer 1

Zooxanthellae are green algae that produce food for corals through a process which requires sunlight called photosynthesis. Sunlight cannot reach the aphotic zone(200m to 1000m from the surface), thus zooxanthellae can not thrive in this environment. Deep sea corals adapt by having longer tentacles which they use to capture plankton and other organic particles.