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The role of coral reefs in climate change
The role of coral reefs in climate change
Global warming effects on barrier reef
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The Great Barrier Reef is 350,000 kilometers long, the world’s largest living organism, and is home to 6,000+ species, but these species could be in danger. According to recent research, the Great Barrier Reef is on the verge of dying because of reckless human behavior. The reef is beneficial to not only ocean life, but also people and the mainland. There are also ways to people can preserve the reef.
Some scenarios that have affected the reef are: coral bleaching, over fishing, and diminishing water quality. Coral bleaching affects the reef immensely, “Corals are resilient enough to recover from short periods of bleaching, but if the occurrence becomes more frequent and more harsh, the reef system will not have enough time to rebuild itself and will eventually die” (Top 3 Reasons Why the Reef Is Dying). A specific water temperature is essential in order for the coral to thrive. When the water temperature rises, the coral becomes disturbed, algal pigmentation is lost, and the coral will die. Essentially, the reef is entirely made of coral. Therefore, if coral bleaching continues to increase, the reef will become obsolete. Roughly 1,500 different species of fish live on the reef. The fish benefit the reef as much as it benefits them. Recently the amount of fish has begun to decrease, “When fishing or fishing practices are left unregulated, they create that imbalance in the system and can be a menace to the reef's survival” (Top 3 Reasons Why the Reef Is Dying). The food chain is being affected by careless fishing, but it doesn't just affect fish. Over-fishing causes a shift in the ecosystem and can easily affect the biodiversity and ecological balance. This causes changes in the marine food webs, physical damage by...
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...e use of chemicals in gardens by only using the recommended amount, dispose chemicals properly, buying organic produce, and buying fish that are not over fished are all ways to help preserve the reef within people’s homes. There are many ways people can help when on the reef, fishing near the reef, and at home.
The world’s largest living organism, the Great Barrier Reef, could be on the verge of dying from various reasons, but there are ways people can help preserve it. The reef is dying because of careless human behavior, causing coral bleaching, over fishing, and diminishing water quality. It benefits people by the food, income, and medicine it provides. People can help preserve it when on the reef, fishing and boating, and at-home lifestyles. People are responsible for a large part of the reef’s death and are also responsible for the preserving of it.
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.
The world is changing. The environment is yelling at us, but is society ready to listen? Climate scientists, outdoor enthusiasts, environmentalists, and politicians all have an opinion on the state of the world’s climate. There is an argument from each side, agreeing or disagreeing with the claims of scientists who are trying to show the world what is happening. The fact is that humans are changing the climate, and it is not for the better. Glaciers are melting, the polar caps are shrinking and the ocean is becoming acidic. According to a report in Ocean News and Technology “Researchers have found that increasing ocean temperatures due to climate change will soon see reefs shrinking” (Ocean News and Technology). The Great Barrier Reef off the
The increase in ocean temperatures are causing the reef to die out; reefs structures don’t have the ability to keep up pace with the ever so changing climate 4. Rigel suggests that coral reefs will eventually die out from the erosion of the warm ocean4. The increase in climate change is leading to ocean acidification. Much of the gases that enter our air from pollution also dissolves into the ocean. With this occurring, corals cannot absorb the calcium they need to maintain their skeletons. The stony skeletons that support coral reefs will dissolve. If nothing is done to stop so much carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere, this will increase and more and more coral reefs will be destroyed and die
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
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.
Believe it or not the current pop culture surrounding the reef is environmental protection. This mean that people are trying to protect and cleanse the reef of toxic waste and such. And the reason that comes to mind as to why they are protecting the reef is because they would want to preserve such a mythical place from the bottom of their
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.
A. Global Warming kills Great Barrier Reef coral. http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/exterel/news/981008News/8.10.coral.html. Coral bleaching http://www.uvi.edu/coral.reefer/bleach.htm Coral Reef http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=050FE000 Coral reefs in peril worldwide. http://usatoday.com/life/science/environ/lse011.htm Coral'stress' worsening, expert says.
Humans have a very large effect on the ecosystems of coral reefs. Sensitivity of coral reefs causes them to be more susceptible to harmful anthropogenic practices. Some of these are sedimentation, global warming, recreational activities, poison fishing, blast fishing practices, water pollution, and coral mining. All of these very different practices can effectively end up with the same results; the mortality of coral reefs around the world. Coral reefs are an important ecosystem of the world, and support many different industries and millions of people.
Now that corals have been briefly described we can see why the effects of climate change damage coral reef systems. Ocean acidification is one result of climate change. Acidification is caused by an increase of carbon dioxide in our oceans and leads to a decrease in the pH levels of seawaters. This pH decrease reduces the ability of corals to make their hard skeletons. 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 are absorbing almost all of the excess heat from climate change. This effects 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. When water becomes too warm 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...
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
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.