Great Barrier Reef.

[DeletedUser]

There has been a discussion going on about wether the GBR is either a multitude of organisms or one giganitc organsim.

Basically, the reef is made up of different species, but they've all interlocked, creating a debate about wether or not the Reef is actually one large organism, much like the 'god' depicted in the movie Avatar. So, do you think the Reef is a large organism, or simply many organisms clustered together?

Discuss.

 

[DeletedUser]

If it was defined as one single organism, then every ecosystem has to be a single organism as well. While there may be many symbiontic relationships among parts doesn't make it a single organism as long as there isn't a dominating end-of-chain-species.
So there would have to be a coral (probably) that exists everywhere in the area and is highly dependent on all the interactions with the other organisms similar to a human being dependent on microorganisms that add up to 90% of cells in a human.

 

[DeletedUser]

I tend to think of it in the same way as I do major cities (or countries). They can be seen as major entities made up of many individual beings. For example: people talk about a war between 2 countries, but it's actually a war between the members of the countries; people talk about Washington D.C. (or Tokyo, London, Sydney, NYC, Hong Kong, etc.) initiating some kind of action, while it is members of the city who actually take the actions.


The GBR is made up of many reefs (which are made up of many organisms) which have similar characteristics, but are also unique in some ways. Just as many cities are grouped together to form a country, different reefs are grouped together to form the GBR. If some are destroyed or some are newly formed, it doesn't change the main characteristics of the group as a whole; however, if the group is separated/destroyed, it would affect the outcome of the individual reefs and the life that depends on them.

Although the cities/countries themselves are not living beings, destroying them would also destroy many living beings that depend on them for their existence. The beings who live within them may change on a regular basis, but the city/country remains fairly constant. I guess that means I don't consider them to be a single organism, but I do believe that the existence of the whole is necessary for the existence of the individual, at least to some extent.

 

[DeletedUser]

I don't really know about this as my knowledge of zoology is limited. However, I can testify that a dive or scuba should be on your list of things to do before you die.

 

[DeletedUser11019]

i scuba dive. not tourist but pro sport.
its many
always wanted to see "it"