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Essay on Coral Reef Bleaching and affects
Ocean acidification marine life essay
Essay on Coral Reef Bleaching and affects
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This Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority introduces basic information to familiarize the audience; it discusses what ocean acidification is and the effects of it on the Great Barrier Reef. This site focuses on four issues which consist of climate change, declining water quality, extreme weather and the impact of fishing marine debris. The author’s intention is to present an overview of the long-term effects of ocean acidification and explains the significant impacts of a changing climate on the GBR ecosystem. It provides useful statistics, information and uses scientific terminology. It also presents findings from a study into the effects of ocean acidification, especially on the Reef. Research was found to evaluate and support the …show more content…
Author had gained data and information from studies. Not only does this research focus on just ocean acidification it also introduces the dramatic effect an acidic environment has on some calcifying species, including oysters, clams, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea corals, and calcareous plankton. According to PMEL it is predicted in the future that the ocean will continue to absorb carbon dioxide and become more acidic, that by the end of this century the surface waters of the ocean could be nearly 150 percent more acidic. This source provides useful information that will be referenced and will allow for a general idea of the topic. PMEL Carbon Program is quite reliable as they have certified scientist who conduct the …show more content…
It stretches over a vast 344,400 square kilometers. The Reef is also composed of 3,000 individual reef systems, 600 tropical islands and about 300 cays. The complex habitat is home to an astounding variety of marine plants and animals, including sea turtles, reef fish, and 134 species of sharks and rays, to 400 different hard and soft corals and a plethora seaweeds. WWF discusses the threats to the Great Barrier Reef which include, coral bleaching, farm pollution, governance, industrialization, and fishing. WWF plans to halt and reverse the decline of species and ecosystem health in the GBR, while reducing the impact of climate change. WWF is a worldwide known organization that provides reliable information they will assist in the following
The Ocean Portal Team report that the mussels will have more difficulty hanging on to rocks or other objects, for their byssal threads are weaker in acidified water. Also, oyster larvae struggle to build their shells due to the acidification; in the first forty-eight hours of the oysters’ lives, they rapidly grow their shells. But, the acidic water corrodes them faster than they can grow, which has led to a population decrease in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (“Ocean”). These negative impacts on calcifiers are seen by various credible references of
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 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 (GBR) is the world’s largest coral reef system, located along the northeast coast of Queensland in Australia. GBR stretches from the most northern part in the country – Torres Strait and all the way down to Fraser Island – the southeast part of Queensland. The distance from north to southeast is close to 2575 kilometres and the whole GBR area is covering around 344 400 square kilometres – which might be why you can see the reef all the way from space. GBR contains approximately 2900 individual reefs and not only is it the world’s largest reef but also the earth 's largest formation shaped by living organisms (Zimmermann, 2012).
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world, it protects coastlines from the dangerous effects of tropical storms and wave action, it is also home to more than 11,ooo marine life. It is one of the world’s largest coral reefs, so large in fact that you can see if from space.
With carbon dioxide levels continuing to rise over the past few decades (fig. 1) and now into the future, concern has been brought to what is happening to the carbonate chemistry of the oceans. Because of these changes in chemistry, the ocean is becoming more acidic. Along with climate change, ocean acidification may be one of the greatest threats to our planet. The higher the ocean’s acidity level goes, the lower the calcium carbonate levels will drop. Even though this is a big scale issue, my goal is to focus on and underline what these changes will mean for the marine life that depend on the calcium carbonate in seawater. I will go in depth with specific regards to a study regarding pteropods or sea butterflies.
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
Around the world, their are beautiful places called “the seven wonders of the natural world”. These sites are fantastic because of there fascinating views and the fact that they were naturally made, not by humans. One of these seven natural wonders of the natural world is the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The Great Barrier Reef was formed by corals growing on submerged islands. The sea level then continued to rise, “leading to more corals growing and forming.” (Zimmerman). The Great Barrier Reef is “a mosaic of 2,900 individual reefs” and can be “seen from space and is not only the world's largest coral reef system but also the largest structure
Ocean acidity will spoil marine ecosystems if it remains persistent. Preserving sustainable fishing industries will become unmanageable if the carbon dioxide absorbed by the world’s oceans is not considerably abridged.
Carbon dioxide disturbs ecosystems candidly, both positively and negatively. On land it increases growth in various trees and plants, an influence occasionally called ‘CO2 fertilisation’. Absorption of CO2 into the oceans triggers ‘ocean acidification’, obstructing shell formation by organisms like corals and affecting coral deterioration or
Guinotte, J. M. and Fabry, V. J. (2008), Ocean Acidification and Its Potential Effects on Marine Ecosystems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1134: 320–342. doi: 10.1196/annals.1439.013
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 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
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...