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The role of coral reefs in climate change
The role of coral reefs in climate change
Coral reef and bleaching phenomena
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Surveys of the Great Barrier Reef suggest that more than 90 percent of it has been affected by bleaching. The Great Barrier Reef, known arguably the most iconic, and well known coral reef on the planet is not immune to bleaching. Penis. The problem however is not only in the GBR, it’s stretching as far as the South Pacific to the Caribbean. With the rate of reef bleaching increasing, the toll taken on the ecosystem will increase as well as many fish who rely on getting food at reefs will have to find new hunting grounds. The world's coral reef population is diminishing; they’re dying at an increasing rate and I believe that the installment of artificial reefs, along with raising of awareness will provide significant change. The problem is …show more content…
However there are locations where the bleaching had first been noticed as a potential global scale issue. The main area that caused scientists to take notice are in the Great Barrier Reef located in coral sea just outside of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's most known, and very possibly the most beautiful reef on the world. Coral bleaching had a major effect on the GBR, and scientists took notice. After scientists took notice, other instances were noticed around the world such as in Japan, the Indo-Pacific, and around the United States in areas such as California, and near Florida. The main cause of coral bleaching is pollution. Large companies, and regular citizens that are dumping their waste in the oceans are a major contributor towards global warming. Global warming is the main cause of bleaching due to the increasing temperature in waters, this increase in temperature cause the reefs a lot of stress. The second largest factor is climate change. Global warming is creating a rise in water temperatures as well, and causing fish to change the areas in which they live. These migrations are creating an unbalanced ecosystem and effecting the reefs …show more content…
The migrations, death to some specie, loss in natural beauty, and blow to the ecosystem are the issues that will need to be dealt with. The implementation of artificial reefs will fix many of these problems over time. artificial reefs are fake coral reefs, they will not provide the same natural nutrients that real coral reefs add. However the artificial reefs will create more stability in the ocean ecosystems. They will act as a temporary reef until new generation of reefs grow. The effect that the reefs will apply is keeping fish in the reef areas, and preventing marine life migration which is beneficial for the dependent fish and fisherman alike. There are downsides of course, artificial reefs are a great solution in short term talk; teh artificial reefs cannot be a long term effect, and unfortunately a coral reef takes many years to become fully grown and beneficial. A slight problem however the fake reefs are made to last, and to be as similar in every aspect to real corals as possible. With the continuing activity in reef areas, when the corals do grow back they will be arriving into a very healthy environment that will promote their future health and
Coral reefs around the world are in danger. One of the causes is global warming, which has been increasing the temperature of the ocean water resulting in coral bleaching. This essay will focus on damage occurring to the Great Barrier Reef.
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.
This website gives a large historical overlook and possible conclusion to the issue of coral reef bleaching. Since the 1980’s episodes of coral reef bleaching and death have occurred almost every year in one or more of the world's tropical or subtropical seas. Bleaching happens in episodes, with the most severe typically accompanying coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomena. Bleaching episodes have resulted in loss of coral
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).
Coral bleaching is when the tiny algae that lives in the coral which causes it to be bright and colourful, gets so stressed out when the water temperature exceeds the limit that it can handle, which then makes the algae
Leading scientists advise climate change will cause increases to the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Rising sea levels pose a significant risk to coastal communities, while the world’s oceans could become too acidic to support coral reefs and other calcifying marine organisms. Coral reefs contain only six per cent of the area of the Great Barrier Reef, yet they provide critical habitat and food for numerous species in the ecosystem. However, climate change has already impacted coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef as corals are very helpless against its potential impacts. Eight mass coral bleaching events has occurred since 1979, triggered by unusually high water temperatures. And because of this, zooxanthellae (photosynthetic algae) leave their tissues and corals will have no more colours hence ‘bleaching’. Without the zooxanthellae, the corals that remain gradually starve to death. Once the coral dies, fish and a multitude of other marine species are soon affected. Rising sea levels and more frequent and intense storm surges will see more erosion of Australia’s coastline, causing community and residential
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.
Bleaching is when the ocean water become too warm, “corals will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. This is called coral bleaching. When a coral bleaches, it is not dead. Corals can survive a bleaching event, but they are under more stress and are subject to mortality.” (Cave and Gillis). When a coral bleaches, it is more of like a self defense mode, which makes it turn white. The coral loses its food source as well. The downfall of this is that without the cooler waters, the corals could die of starvation or disease. Cooler waters from below can help a bleached coral bounce back to its natural state. However, if the water stays too warm for an extended period of time, “the corals don't just bleach, they cook and they die very quickly,.” (Westcott). Throughout time, much of the corals near Cairns and northward have lost the most corals. Hughes states that, “near Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef has lost 47 percent to 83 percent of their coral and as you go northward, the Great Barrier Reef has lost 11percent to 35 percent of its corals.” (Cave and Gillis). In another report, “a study last year found the largest die off of corals ever recorded with about 67 per cent of shallow water coral found dead in a survey of a 700km stretch.” (Johnston). In 2016 and 2017, there were back to back bleaching events. According to CNN reports, “back to back bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 have devastated a 1,500 km (900 miles) stretch of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.” (Westcott). Before the 2016 bleaching event of the Great Barrier Reef, there have only been two bleaching events, 1998 and 2002. According the Hughes, “only 9 percent of the reef has avoided bleaching since 1998.” (Cave and Gillis). That means that over 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef has been affected by coral bleaching at least once in the past 19 years.
Parts of the Great Barrier Reef are over 18 million years old. During this time sea levels have changed, with the Great Barrier Reef being left high and dry during the last ice age, turning into grassy plains. Sea levels rose as ice caps melted around 12 000 years ago, allowing corals to reestablish on old remnant reefs. It is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem. The Great Barrier Reef is home to 1500 species of fish, 400 species of coral, 40000 species of Mollusk, 500 species of sea weed 215 species of birds, 16 species of sea snake and 6 species of turtle. However over time this diversity is rapidly decreasing, it is vital that the Great Barrier Reef is protected.
Rates of coral calcification on the Great Barrier Reef and many other reef systems around the world have declined by 15-20% since 1990 due to increasing thermal stress (De’ath 2012). It has already been mentioned that the oceans absorb almost all of the excess heat from climate change. This affects coral reef systems in what is known as coral bleaching. The term bleaching refers to the loss of corals’ colors. A coral’s color is the result of the zooxanthellae present.
The Great barrier reef has had many recent hardships, including water pollutants and the increasing water temperature. Although it may be too late to save this particular reef we the people must not be so nearsighted to the
Climate change has been affecting coral reefs in a negative way. If the climate continues to get warmer more of our coral reef become bleached, the structure of the reefs will become weak, and algae that keeps coral healthy will die. In the essay, “A framework for understanding Climate change impacts on Coral Reefs” by Joshua Clinner (2016), he emphasizes our climate change has become one of the long-term threats to coral reef. The article “Climate change and human impacts are damaging the world’s coral reefs”, which didn’t include an author (2001), states that the sea temperatures throughout the tropics has increased dramatically leaving much of the coral unhealthy. Spencer Hall (2008), discussed in his article “Coral Reefs and Climate Change”, how the increase in climate change puts a lot of stress on coral reefs because they are very sensitive to the change of temperature. Rigel B (2003) states in his essay, “Climate Change and Coral Reefs”, that coral reef has already been negatively impacted by
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).
We need coral reefs, and not just to make the ocean look pretty and colourful, they are more than just that…
These reefs provide a house for many species. If the coral reefs were to become