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Coral reefs are often coined as the rainforests of the sea, and they are one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Although they cover less than 1 percent of the Earth's surface, coral reefs house about one-third of all marine species. It is estimated that there are about 3.2 million species that inhabit coral reef ecosystems. The coral reefs not only provide biodiversity, they also play a vital role in the local economies. Tourism is one of the ways that nearby countries benefit from coral reefs. Coral reef fisheries produce about 6 million metric tons of fish annually and they provide for one-quarter of the fish that is caught in developing nations. Coral reefs are also associated with building materials, coastal protection, and pharmaceutical discoveries. However, coral reefs have been declining mainly due to stresses that result from human activity like overfishing and pollution. The rises in carbon emissions from the increased fossil fuel combustion and cement production have resulted in the acidification of the ocean and global warming, which both inhibit the growth of coral reefs.
Reef habitats might appear to be robust enough to withstand anything, but they are extremely fragile. Most corals...
It is estimated that over the last 50 years, humans have put enormous pressure on coral reef ecosystems by altering the waters and tearing up the coral reef foundations. It is reported that approximately 27 percent of the monitored reef formations have been lost and we are at risk of losing 32 percent in the next couple of years (De’ath, Fabricius, Sweatman, & Puotinen, 2012). The interesting part of all the reports and studies conducted that analyze coral reef ecosystems decline is that they all note that human activity is the primary reason for the decline. There are half a billion people who are currently living within fifty miles of the reef habitats and there are much more who are on their way, which is likely to make the situation worse.
There are many different ways that human activity assaults the coral reef. For example, in Florida people drain their septic tanks directly into the ocean. This results in algae growing on top of the coral structures and deprives the coral polyps’ sunlight. Fishermen from Sri Lanka use dynamite to catch fish. When they…
References
De’ath, G., Fabricius, K. E., Sweatman, H., & Puotinen, M. (2012). The 27–year decline of coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef and its causes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(44), 17995-17999.
Graham, N. A., McClanahan, T. R., MacNeil, M. A., Wilson, S. K., Polunin, N. V., Jennings, S., . . . Letourneur, Y. (2008). Climate warming, marine protected areas and the ocean-scale integrity of coral reef ecosystems. PLoS ONE, 3(8), e3039.
Coral Reefs Conclusion and Assessment to Experiment The experiment as described provides strong support for the idea that temperature directly affects coralline health and that even relatively small rises in temperature can have devastating effects on corals (and coral reefs) because such a shift in temperature has the effect of destroying the relationship between the corals and small symbionts that live in the corals. Rising temperatures drive the symbionts out of the
Pollutants Compound Threats to Coral Reefs and What That Means for the Ocean and Us Humans POLLUTANTS AND CORAL REEFS All over the world, the existence of coral reefs in the oceans face a lot of danger caused by pollutant compounds. A lot of consideration therefore needs to be put in place to access the effects caused by these pollutants on human beings and possible remedies on the impact of the
Environmental Crimes and Health and Safety Law Violation With the current changes in weather patterns, strange climatic conditions and other uncontrollable natural disasters, there has been a lot of attention directed towards the environment and the way people may be contributing to the degradation of the environment in small ways that is summed up results into the disasters that we see on daily basis. The environment is becoming unpleasant on an
The fact is that numerous rooted macrophyte structures are not full of naturally strong and healthy particles and sediments and nutrients. It is because of the restriction or absence of these particles, sediments and nutrients that the study of these systems has not been as extensive and thorough as the concentration on the terrestrial structures when understanding the fate, sources and sinks of Co2 levels in the ecosystems and the
Ecosystem Dynamics Relative to Repair and Restoration Ecological restoration activities are created to reverse the effect of previous human activities that damaged important parts of ecosystems. Terry L. Root, senior fellow with Stanford's Institute for International Studies affirms in one of her studies that "One thing we might do now is to consider adjusting the bag limits for hunters so we don't add insult to injury in the coming years. Because
Thus, since we are a major contributor to the problem, we need to be the first to step up with global solutions. In addition, the country (and the world) needs to start to encourage the development of alternative energies on a large scale. Homes that utilize solar, geothermal, and/or wind power should receive tax breaks, and there should be significant incentives to build "green" in the future. In addition, we