At the Aquarium of the Pacific, many different oceanic habitats are presented. These exhibits give the public an idea of the different environments our own oceans hold, providing a hands-on learning experience in the comfort of their own city. The two habitats that interested me are the coral reef and deep ocean. Both the coral reef and deep ocean are very different from each other, having varied ways of survival for the plethora of plants and animals that call those places home. In the coral reef habitat, food consumption is based on sunlight. The sunlight gives food to the plants, bacteria and algae, which is eaten by the plant eaters or herbivores, such as parrotfishes. The bigger carnivores, such as the Whitetip Reef Shark, in the ecosystem …show more content…
Because they are small in size, they are able to move quickly and easily throughout the coral reef. Staying under protective crevices and lying motionless on the sandy bottom during the daytime are other ways they use their small size as an adaptation. Their slender, more spindle-shaped bodies also help them maneuver around the caves and saunter around the sandy floor of the coral reef. Their most prominent adaptation, to me, is their countershading. The Whitetip Reef Sharks have a light gray color on the dorsal side, and a whiter color on their ventral side. As they hid in the crevices of the rocks in the coral reef exhibit, their gray dorsal top almost blended in with the darker gray color of the rocks under which they were hovering. Because they are the carnivores in the coral reef food web, they eat the smaller fishes, which controls the population of those species from becoming too large. The population of these fishes, or food to the sharks, is a biotic factor to the Whitetip Reef Shark. An abiotic factor is sunlight and oxygen. Without sunlight, they don’t have the ability to see well in the water, and without oxygen underwater, they would not be able to breathe. As they live their lives in the coral reef, their adaptations and the biotic and abiotic factors help them make living
For 50 years SeaWorld has entertained park guests with numerous stunts involving the majestic sea creature, the orca, also referred to as the killer whale, and their human trainers. What the on-lookers don’t see at these shows is what goes on behind the scenes: how the whales got there in the first place, and the conditions in which they are housed.
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.
...uring the age of discovery, it is that environments and ecosystems are fragile and can be easily altered with devastating results. Therefore, as humans continue to discover exciting new worlds, either in the darkest depths of the ocean or on the surface of a strange new planet, it is important that we as humans consider the ecological impacts that may result from those discoveries.
We need coral reefs, and not just to make the ocean look pretty and colourful, they are more than just that…
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.
The outer layer of a reef consists of living animals, or polyps, of coral. Single-celled algae called zooxanthellae live within the coral polyps, and a skeleton containing filamentous green algae surrounds them. The photosynthetic zooxanthellae and green algae transfer food energy directly to the coral polyps, while acquiring scarce nutrients from the coral. The numerous micro habitats of coral reefs and the high biological productivity support a great diversity of other life.
The discoverer of the titanic, Dr Robert Ballard famously referred to the deep sea as ‘far more alien than going to mars or the moon.’ The deep sea is one of the largest virtually unexplored ecosystems on the planet; it is found at a depth of 1000 fathoms [1] and is subject to adverse changes in temperature, pressure and light penetration amongst other factors. Therefore as expected fish decrease in abundance, and species diversity. This trend is prominent as in order to survive the harsh conditions of the deep sea, fish need a number of specific adaptations. Allowing them to ultimately survive, feed, and reproduce.
Imagine a lush underwater place. Beautiful structures colorful animals and places that would never have been thought of before. In reality that's not what it really looks like, really the ocean is a desolate place that is barren like a desert. Many marine species have been lost by as much as 49%.(seeker) A big part of that reason is because of coral bleaching which causes as stated above a decline in species that depend on the coral as there home. Coral bleaching is a serious problem that could cause problems for everyone if we don’t fix it.
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.
The 7,109 islands that make up the Philippines have a diverse range of both aquatic and land-dwelling life-forms. The coral reefs there and throughout the world are facing new challenges. Pollution, climate change and destructive fishing methods all threaten the health of fragile coral reefs. This is where Samantha has focused much of her work. She dives, takes amazing photographs and videos, and spreads her excitement about marine biology to teach and encourage others about the importance of conserving our oceans and coral
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 Great Barrier Reef is an exemplary model of the famous exotic coral reef seen in a copy of the National Geographic or the popular animated film Finding Nemo. Located on the coast of Australia, it is known as the “largest biological organism in the world” (“Human Impact on the Great Barrier Reef” par. 1). The idea bears that coral reefs are again not an assortment of organisms functioning separately but rather working together to thrive. The groups of coral that are seen in t...
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
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.