...SOS 220 Coral Reefs vs. Climate Change Corals reefs around the world have been fighting climate change for just over two centuries. This problem hasn’t caught much attention to the average human eye, but it’s about time everybody realizes how this is affecting their everyday lives as well. Coral bleaching is one of the main concerns with coral reefs around the world. Coral bleaching can be fatal to coral reefs, which in return could hurt us in the future. Ocean acidification is another problem that coral reefs are facing around the world. Not only is it harmful to the coral reefs but harmful to marine life as well. Although these are all negative actions towards coral reefs there can be a bright...
Words: 3119 - Pages: 13
...prevailing issue for oceans being coral bleaching. Coral reefs represent less than point one percent of the world’s ocean floor and help support almost twenty-five percent of all marine species (Perry). The United States, since the nineties, has been working to improve the conditions of coral reefs. There are disagreements and opposing claims that coral bleaching stems from other factors besides fluctuating water temperatures. Coral reef bleaching is still a prevalent issue that the United States alongside other countries needs to work towards a more efficient solution in preserving oceanic life. The general public is informed on the progression of coral reef bleaching, but not the factors that cause the issue. People are choosing to be ignorant of the situation involving coral reefs by not taking action. The underlying problem could be resolved with the knowledge of existing relationships in the diverse habit. The National Oceanic and Administration has asserted that coral bleaching...
Words: 1060 - Pages: 5
...Much attention has been focused on the effects of climate change on the ocean. Even with its vast capacity to absorb heat and carbon dioxide, the physical impacts of climate change on the ocean are now very clear and dramatic. The ocean’s water temperature is on a constant rise. The temperature isn’t rising in drastic numbers, but it is gradually rising and causing problems in our oceans. There are three major ways these warm temperatures are affecting our oceans such as coral bleaching, fish migration, and ocean acidification. Coral bleaching is caused when water is too warm, which the warm water causes the coral to expel the algae living in their tissues turning it completely white. Many species live on and thrive in coral reefs, along with the coral reef providing protection for many animals. Consequently, mass coral bleaching results in the starvation and death of the corals that support the thousands of species that live on coral reefs. Coral bleaching also results in the declining in genetic and species diversity. The effects of coral bleaching cause an abundance of problems toward the ecosystem and the species living on that coral....
Words: 506 - Pages: 3
...“Coral reefs are the most spectacular and diverse ecosystems on the planet. Complex and productive, coral reefs boast hundreds of thousands of species, many of which are undescribed by science. They are renowned for their beauty, biological diversity, and high productivity” (Hoegh-Guldburg 839). Global Warming and chemicals going into the ocean are causing coral to bleach. The coral reefs are dying causing fish to lose their habitat and wave action is becoming stronger. In order to correct the destruction created by globalization researchers are creating coral nurseries and replanting the coral, but the best option for the coral to survive, is to put a stop to global warming. Coral reefs have been shaping the ocean and its ecosystems for the...
Words: 1615 - Pages: 7
...What is coral bleaching? Water that becomes warm can cause coral bleaching which makes the tissue of the coral to become white. That does not mean that the coral is dead in any way, but make the coral become weakened than its original standard. In the Caribbean they have lost 50% of there coral reefs because of the bleaching in one year. But not only are the reefs becoming white because of warm water temperatures also cold temperatures also cause coral bleaching’s in Florida. This made some corals die. Coral reefs provide sea creature’s shelter, secure shorelines, and back fishing industries. The factors for coral bleaching are changes in salinity, diseases, bright sunlight when the water is already too warm, and pollution. There are ways to prevent it like walking instead of driving, plant a tree anywhere, and support local legislators. What is an ecosystem? An ecosystem is living things like plants, animals, and organisms. These depend on non-living things like water, sun, temperature, pressure, and nutrients. What causes ecosystem destruction?...
Words: 442 - Pages: 2
...Raekwon Filmore Clarkson University Department of Biology Spring 2018 BY-445 Background Coral reefs are one of nature’s most diverse ecosystems. The variation in organisms and plant life is what drives many scientists to understand how something so unique can occur. Because coral reefs are so diverse, they help the environment they inhabit in various ways. Coral reefs are biologically diverse and economically important to the ecosystems of the planet. The reason for this importance to the ecosystems is that it provides services that are essential to human life and industries through fisheries, coastal protection, building materials, new biochemical compounds,...
Words: 1840 - Pages: 8
...The coral bleaching from different perspectives Introduction Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystem that also habitats for coastal animals and offer services to human communities (Kubicek, Muhando and Reuter 2012, p. 1). Coral reefs are places for many fishes and other living creatures in the sea to hide and live. Coral reefs also have a huge impact to human communities. Coral reefs and the beauty of living creatures that live within them have become major attraction for tourist and income for local communities. Unfortunately, human activities have caused coral reefs destroyed because of activities such as overfishing, diving, chemical pollution, reef mining and many other things (Carey 2000, p. 147). This activities lead to coral bleaching, which will become danger for many creatures that live in it. The Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its half coral reef in the last 27 years, and 10 per cent of the damage is caused by coral bleaching (De'ath 2012). Coral bleaching however impact many perspectives. From science perspective, coral bleaching has been a threat for many coral species and fishes that lives in it for they are becoming extinct and destroyed (Kubicek, Muhando and Reuter 2012, p. 1). This will leads to the less variety of the coastal ecosystem riches and incur social and economic loss to its social community. Coral bleaching also have impacts to the indigenous people. Indigenous people have used coral reef and its resources as dependence for their food supply...
Words: 2510 - Pages: 11
...Coral’s Susceptibility to Bleaching based on the Symbiotic Relationship with their Zooxanthellae, Using DNA Sequencing Techniques http://www.wiki-reef.com/CoralSpecimen.aspx?cid=28 Elizabeth Velazquez Fall Quarter 2011 Luisa Marcelino, Timothy Swain Northwestern University, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium Abstract Coral samples were obtained from Shedd Aquarium to investigate the symbiotic relationship between the corals and their zooxanthellae under environmental stress. The zooxanthellae DNA were extracted, amplified, and sequenced. The sequences were then analyzed using Sequencher 5.0 and BioEdit where they were aligned individually and then against other sequences found in previous literature research. The aligned sequences were run in Genbank using the BLAST function to identify the zooxanthellae at the subclade level. Further research into current literature was done with the best matched subclades to our sequences to further investigate the thermal resilience of the zooxanthellae. It was found that thylakoid membrane lipid compositions as well as lipid energy reserves are correlated to bleaching susceptibility. Clade D symbionts have higher lipid energy reserves, allotting for more thermal resilience in comparison to clade C as well as increased abundances in D symbiont types among reefs after bleaching events. Bleaching susceptibility was also found to have variation within clades. More research is needed to fully understand the coral-zooxanthellae relationship...
Words: 5425 - Pages: 22
...many things from Kristen Marhaver's TED talks video on "Why I still have hope for coral reefs". In her video she explained why corals in the Pacific Ocean have been dying at an alarming rate, particularly from bleaching brought on by increased water temperatures. In her video she states, "This is happening over an unbelievable scale. The Northern Great Barrier Reef lost two-thirds of its corals last year over a distance of hundreds of miles, then bleached again this year, and the bleaching stretched further south. Reefs in the Pacific are in a nosedive right now, and no one knows how bad it's going to get."Kristen says it is not too late to act, if corals are given time, stable temperatures and strong protection, corals there have shown the ability to survive and...
Words: 472 - Pages: 2
...Ecosystems are groups of other ecological systems that when combined, create one large system working with each other and for each other. There are abiotic factors including light, climate and soil type. As always, there are biotic components that coordinate the biological community that is composed of all the species in the ecosystem. The focal ecosystem in this paper is the coral reef. Coral reef can be found in tropical oceans near the equator. One of the largest coral reef is in Australia and is called the Great Barrier Reef. With that second largest reef located just off the coast of Belize, it is clear these reefs can be spread across a few continents. There are other reefs found in areas such as Hawaii and the Red Sea. A benefit that comes from coral reefs is the protecting of the shore and lagoon. Coral reefs absorb the force of the waves and then disperse that energy. By this process, the shores are protected from natural disturbances like erosion. Coral Reef also provide homes as well as nursery grounds for a vast amount of fish species. In the economies where coral reefs exist, they also provide jobs, fishing and recreational tourism for those interested in deep sea diving. The carbon cycle is the natural process where carbon is released and then absorbed to maintain life. A well-known example of this...
Words: 557 - Pages: 3
...Describe the conditions which provide the best environment for the growth of coral and explain how coral may be threatened by changes to those conditions. A coral reef provides one of the most important natural habitats in the world, sheltering enormous amounts of biodiversity with its solid calcium carbonate skeleton. More than 25 percent of all fish biodiversity on the planet Earth is associated with the coral reef ecosystem. Coral reefs require fairly specific environmental conditions in order to thrive. Coral reefs and the zooxanthellae algae living within the cell walls of coral polyps must have adequate sunlight and warm salt water - water that gets no colder than 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).Optimal conditions for coral growth require water temperatures between 73.4 and 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit (23 to 29 degrees Celsius). Coral reefs survive best in the waters between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator, mostly in the Pacific and Indian oceans. They also thrive in clear waters with little or no floating particles that can filter out or block direct sunlight. Shallow-water coral grows approximately 3.9 inches (9.9 centimeters) per year, given these optimal conditions. For example, the coasts alongside Oman are an ideal place for coral growth. While tropical shallow-water coral reefs have been studied much more extensively, there are also species of coral that live in deep-water conditions, from about 50 to 2,000 meters (about 165...
Words: 1437 - Pages: 6
...supported by coral reefs is under threat as oceans absorb greater quantities of carbon dioxide, says Rod Salm. In this week's Green Room, he says we must accept that we are going to lose many of these valuable ecosystems, but adds that not all hope is lost. I've been privileged to see many of the world's finest and least disturbed reefs. Mine were the first human eyes to see many of the remotest reefs at a time when we really could describe them as pristine. I would never have dreamed that they were at risk from people, far less than from something as remote then as climate change. Today, despite the doom and gloom one reads so much about, one can still find reefs that are vibrant, thriving ecosystems. But sadly, too, there are more and more that look like something from the dark side of the Moon. These degraded reefs have been ravaged by destructive fishing, bad land use practices that smother them with silt, and pollutants that foster disease and overgrowth by seaweeds. More alarmingly, there are large areas that are killed off and degraded by warming seas linked to climate change. We've all read that global warming poses a tremendous threat to our planet, and that coral reefs will face an uphill battle to survive in warmer waters. Yet the greatest threat to our oceans and to all of its wonders is little known, nearly impossible to see, and potentially devastating. This is not climate change, but does stem from the excess carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change...
Words: 1172 - Pages: 5
...These will impact on some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people, disrupting food production, and threatening vitally important species, habitats and ecosystems. 3 Extra ultraviolet B radiation reaching Earth also inhibits the reproductive cycle of phytoplankton, single-celled organisms such as algae that make up the bottom rung of the food chain. This eventually made biologists fear that reductions in phytoplankton populations will in turn lower the populations of other animals. Researchers also have documented changes in the reproductive rates of young fish, shrimp, and crabs as well as frogs and salamanders exposed to excess ultraviolet B. 4 Scientists believe that global warming will lead to a weaker ozone layer, because as the surface temperature rises, the stratosphere (the ozone layer being found in the upper part) will get colder, making the natural repairing of the Ozone slower. Reports have it that by 2030, "climate change may surpass chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as the main driver of overall ozone loss. The Ozone layer protects all life on Earth from the harmful effects of the sun's rays. It has been depleting for many years now. Scientists have said that currently over Antarctica the Ozone hole is three times the size of the United States and growing. Also, according to scientists, more than 60 percent of the ozone layer blanketing the...
Words: 3796 - Pages: 16
...The first major threat to coral reefs is global warming or climate change. The warming of the oceans is detrimental for coral reefs because they are very particular about what water temperature they live in. Also the warming of the oceans causes glacier to melt, thus causing rising seas. " The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that sea level is rising at a rate of .12 inches per year—60 percent faster than the .08 inches per year it predicted in 2007" (Global Reef Threats). Rising seas causes coral reefs to be deeper in the ocean. As something gets further away from the surface it common sense that it will receive less light. This will cause the coral reefs to grow slower. This is a problem considering some coral reefs already...
Words: 449 - Pages: 2
...their survival, this threat is coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is a growing issue for most reefs around the world, this is when coral turn white, or bleach, as they either die or become dormant. To try and manage this, governments initiate laws and restrictions to save the reef, yet people still continue to damage it both intentionally and unintentionally. Issue to Reef’s coral bleaching is the issue The issue to reefs is the human induced climate change that causes the water temperature and ocean acidification to rise. These cause the coral to be unable to live so it releases a substance called zooxanthellae, the substance which gives the coral colour, leaving the coral with a ‘bleached’ look. Another factor for coral bleaching is ocean acidification, this is when the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The ocean has already absorbed 1/3 of the carbon dioxide and ½ of the fossil fuels from factories and other human activities....
Words: 782 - Pages: 4
