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Climate Change Effects On Coral Reefs
Climate Change Effects On Coral Reefs
Effects of global warming on the great barrier reef
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Significance of Coral Reefs 30 May 2014 Coral reefs are a wondrous, colorful haven for an abundant array of marine plant and animal species. Many people have described them as the “rainforests of the seas” because of the biodiversity found in and around these precious ecosystems. On November 22, 1996, President Clinton gave remarks on the International Coral Reef Initiative in Australia. In his speech he stated, “Pollution, overfishing, and overuse have put many of our unique reefs at risk. Their disappearance would destroy the habitat of countless species. It would unravel the web of marine life that holds the potential for new chemicals, new medicines, unlocking new mysteries. It would have a devastating effect on the coastal communities from Cairns to Key West, Florida — communities whose livelihood depends upon the reefs.” These words outline the importance of coral reefs and the impact that they have on the environment, world economy, and humankind. The influence that coral reefs have on the environment is tremendous, as they affect both marine and land habitats. In the ocean, reefs provide accommodations for and sustain over 2 million different species or 25% of all marine life. Many species of plants and animals, ranging from simple algae to large sea turtles and dolphins depend on the reefs to survive. The coral reef itself manages the delicate relationship balance amongst all of them, as it provides all the needed resources for them to develop and thrive there. This is why the coral reef is the basis of all the food webs connecting the marine life. Coral reefs are also involved in shielding coastlines from strong waves and currents by slowing down the water before it reaches the shore. They provide a barrier between the ... ... middle of paper ... ...ttack or defense mechanisms, and these can be utilized in humans to treat or cure diseases. Some of these are even being used now in the treatment of HIV and cancers. In addition, coral reefs are tied into some cultural traditions in countless coastal areas. Without coral reefs, these societies lose their cultural bond and a common interest that made them a community. As one can see, coral reefs are a valued resource in the ocean and around the world because of their beauty and biodiversity. They provide shelter for a broad variety of marine life, act as a barrier to protect shorelines, provide humans with recreation, are an invaluable resource for potential medicines, and a foundation for some cultural traditions in coastal regions. These things along with numerous others illustrate the emphasis that should be placed on preservation and restoration of the reefs.
Earth, an endless source of wonder and beauty, produced the Great Barrier Reef. Hustling and bustling, the Reef thrives like a busy city, teeming with life. Sheltering thousands, corals, maintain the well-being of the Reef; however, the world threatens its nature and delicacy. Populations growing and technological advances increasing, the world becomes more and more disconnected with the natural world, posing an alarming risk for the planet we live on. Although many organizations try to keep the oceans clean, because of human interference and unnatural occurrences, the Great Barrier Reef needs scientific help to adapt corals to new conditions for means of survival, putting pressure on the Australian government to save their ocean environment.
Corals provide shelter for nearly one quarter of all known marine species. The reefs are home to over 4000 species of fish, 700 species of coral, and thousands of other forms of plant and animal life. Living coral reefs are the foundation of marine life, and this also means that they are essential for human life, but all over the world they are dead or dying because people are destroying them at a very fast rate. Already 10% have been lost, and there are predictions that 705 of all corals on the planet will be destroyed in 20 to 40 years unless people stop doing what they are doing now – i.e., pollution, sewage, erosion, cyanide fishing, bad tourism.
All over the world coral reefs play an important part in our environment. Not only are the reefs colorful and beautiful to look at but the coral reefs house several different types of fish and other sea creatures. Coral reefs have started to decline over the years due to “climate change, El Nino events, overfishing, pollution and other pressures” (Newnham 1). A healthy coral reef can also collapse due to a natural disaster (Newnham 2). There can be several different reasons why a coral reef has started to decline or has been destroyed.
Coral Reefs are said to be the “tropical rainforest” of the sea. They are home to over 25% of all marine life (http://coralreefalliance.org.stories/storyReader$77). Over the past few decades they have been subjected to destructive anthropogenic practices. Some of the major threats to coral reefs include sedimentation, water pollution, harmful recreational activities, and global warming. All of these things cause stress on corals and can potentially cause mortality. Corals are made up of two parts, a polyp and zooxanthellae. A polyp is a calcerous body that grows from a hard part of the ocean floor. Zooxanthellae is a photosynthetic algae which lives in the polyp and provide energy for themselves and the coral. In many cases, corals undergo “bleaching,” which is a process where corals lose the zooxantheallae or chlorophyll pigment, and turn white (Wilkinson et all). After bleaching corals can survive for several months. It is possible for corals to recover by hosting more zooxantheallae, but it can take between 5 and 50 years for them to recover completely (Wilkinson et all, 1999).
Some ways to help our coral reefs are conserve water: The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater will pollute our oceans. Help reduce pollution: Walk, bike or ride the bus. Fossil fuel emissions from cars and industry raise lead to ocean warming which causes mass-bleaching of corals and can lead to widespread destruction of reefs. Research what you put on your lawn: Although you may live thousands of miles from a coral reef ecosystem, these products flow into the water system, pollute the ocean, and can harm coral reefs and marine life. Dispose of your trash properly: Don't leave unwanted fishing lines or nets in the water or on the beach. Any kind of litter pollutes the water and can harm the reef and the fish. Support reef-friendly businesses: Ask the fishing, boating, hotel, aquarium, dive or snorkeling operators how they protect the reef. Be sure they care for the living reef ecosystem and ask if the organization responsible is part of a coral reef ecosystem management effort. Plant a tree: Trees reduce runoff into the oceans. You will also contribute to reversing the warming of our planet and the rising temperatures of our oceans. Practice safe and responsible diving and snorkeling: Do not touch the reef or anchor your boat on the reef. Contact with the coral will damage the delicate coral animals, and anchoring on the reef can kill it, so look for sandy bottom or use moorings if available. Volunteer for a coral reef cleanup: You don't live near a coral reef? Then do what many people do with their vacation: visit a coral reef. Spend an afternoon enjoying the beauty of one of the most diverse ecosystems on the Earth. Contact your government representatives: Demand they take action
Oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface. The talk of climate change can often seem to focus on what is happening in our atmosphere, but there is a lot of change going on in our oceans. The oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat and 28% of the carbon pollution generated by human consumption of fossil fuels (Nuccitelli 2015). The purpose of this paper is to show how the effects of climate change effect the coral reefs in our oceans, with a focus on the coral reef systems in the Caribbean and of the Great Barrier Reef. The Caribbean coral reefs are well known to have suffered more damage between the two reef systems. That’s not to say that the Great Barrier Reef has not suffered its own damage. It has and will continue to suffer in the future.
This article discusses how important the organisms symbiotic with coral reefs are, as well as how important coral reefs are to our environment. Also explained is how natural and non natural things things like hurricanes and overfishing affects them. A study is quoted about how water acidity also plays a role in the bleaching of corals. Lastly, restoration and conservation efforts are discussed and how we could possibly help our oceans.
The commercial value of U.S. fisheries from coral reefs is over $100 million (NMFS/NOAA, 2001). In addition, the annual value of reef-dependent recreational fisheries probably exceeds $100 million per year. In developing countries, coral reefs contribute about one-quarter of the total fish catch, providing critical food resources for tens of millions of people (Jameson et al.,
Coral reefs are well known for their colorful array of marvelous sights including a parade of exotic flora and fauna. They are said to be the foundation for a quarter of marine species, and are a crucial support for human life as well. The coral reef ecosystem is a diverse collection of species (ranging from microscopic to larger-than-life in size) that interact with each other and their physical environment. If any piece of a coral reef is harmed or removed the entire community can be seriously affected, even to the point of collapse. Unfortunately, human impact has resulted in long-term stresses that, unlike the short-term stress of natural disasters, coral reefs are not as capable to recover from. “Approximately half of the world’s coral reef ecosystem resources are considered by scientists to be in 'poor' or 'fair' condition and have declined over time due to several anthropogenic threats” (“Status of Corals” par. 2). Through poorly administered commercial practices, carelessness and ignorance among the common people, and human aggravated natural processes coral reef destruction has become a serious issue afflicting the world’s biodiversity and it’s intricate biosphere mechanics (“Human Impact on the Great Barrier Reef” 1) (“What Are Coral Reefs?” 1).
The charity that I am researching for my compassion project is the Coral Reef Alliance. The cause of this charity is to help save coral reefs from dying. Overfishing, poor water quality, climate change and other harms are what they are trying to stop. Coral reefs are a big part of the ecosystem and must be saved. They contain lots of types of coral and a lot of different animal species. The grooves in coral reefs give good hiding places for fish and other underwater species. Coral reefs are also known as the “rainforests of the ocean.” I like a quote from the book The Sixth Extinction,”Corals build the architecture of the ecosystem, so it’s pretty clear if they go, the whole ecosystem goes.”
Coral reefs are celebrated for their beauty, diversity, the enormous assemblage of life that they sustain and for providing of several vital services to society such as coastal defense, fisheries, ecotourism as well as products for construction and medicinal mixtures (Barker and Roberts, 2004). Regardless of their apparent value, universally the world over coral reefs are in decline due to a varied assortment of anthropogenic stresses such as scuba diving which will be the emphasis in this study (Barker and Roberts, 2004). The positive aspect of diving tourism is the economic gain from user fees which help recompense towards reef management, however it comes with greater repercussions for the coral reefs (Barker and Roberts, 2004).It is clear that coral reefs are a valuable but vulnerable assets to the scuba diving tourism industry, but that with the growth of reef tourism, damage from reef users must be addressed (Barker and Roberts, 2004).
The extinction of the red coral will have a huge impact on economic of certain countries that dependent upon the Corallium rubrum. Besides that, tourism of countries that counting on the beauty of Corallium rubrum to attract tourist would also be affected by the declining rate in Corallium rubrum population. However, the most saddening impact is the loss of habitat towards organisms that depend upon Corallium rubrum as its shelter. Thus, this will eventually affect the balance in aquatic ecosystem which leads to many declining populations of certain organisms in the aquatic ecosystem.
Located in tropical ocean waters, coral reefs provide priceless resources to both human and marine life. The leading natural cause of destruction among the coral reefs is global warming. Other natural causes are earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons. The destruction to the coral reefs from these natural disasters is minimal compared to the dangers caused by man. Man-made destruction has a much wider impact on the health of the coral reefs. This destruction includes over-fishing, damage from anchors, aquarium industry, overgrowth of seaweed, and being smothered by sediments.
In conclusion, I would like to say that before writing this paper, I had no idea how important coral reefs were to the earth. I have learned a lot and I think that if more people were informed about the positive capabilities of them, humans wouldn't be so careless about them.
Today many people do not see the need to preserve corals reefs. Hence because of the lack of appreciation for the reefs, they are slowly disappearing. Many citizens do not realize the importance of these reefs, the species they hold, and the food webs that connect the ecosystems. Our American government has stated many times that they are doing all they can to preserve and to replenish our coral reefs. However, how accurate is that statement? To answer these questions, we first have to understand what a coral reef is and how it can be saved.