Coral reefs are one of the biological cornerstones of the ocean and are fundamental to many marine ecosystems worldwide. Whilst they have countless uses to socioeconomic and tourism sectors globally, their role in the biological sense is of far greater value. By looking at their importance to the biology of the oceans, a greater understanding of the level in which they need to be protected can be formed. One of their key characteristics is their ability to provide shelter and protection to countless marine organisms. This is done so efficiently that entire ecosystems form solely around coral reefs and the habitats they create. These reefs also act as a vital buffer for waves and strong ocean conditions. By dissipating the wave energy, they …show more content…
As mentioned, coral reefs form into different zones, with one zone being the reef crest. This section of the reef causes incoming waves to slow in speed and increase in height, called shoaling. A study by Ferrario et al. (2014) found that coral reefs as a whole can reduce the overall energy of a wave by 97%, with just the reef crests alone able to reduce 86% of the energy through shoaling. This reduction of energy results in a wave that is travelling slower and with less force than before it passed over the reef (Ferrario et al. 2014). This can have dramatic results for areas along the coast that are at risk when storms cause strong swell. A wave with less overall energy will do less structural damage if it happens to reach coastal establishments (Grimsditch & Salm 2006). More importantly in a biological sense, waves that have less energy will equally travel less far onto the mainland during heavy surge, meaning a smaller area of groundcover is exposed to the water, thus there is a lessened risk of flooding and damage to the soil. Especially reliant on the protection from coral reefs are the adjoining beaches themselves, which suffer from coastal erosion considerably more after coral-destruction events, such as hurricanes. Without the coral to reduce the wave energy, more powerful waves wash onto shore and recede with more energy, taking …show more content…
One element that is necessary for life is nitrogen, and coral reefs have the ability to fix nitrogen highly efficiently, allowing it to be taken up more readily. Specifically, it is the algae that the coral polyps share a symbiotic relationship with that fix the nitrogen. Algae found in Pacific reef flats called Calothrix crustacea was found to fix nitrogen at a rate of 1.8kg/ha/day, which was 2-5 times the amount fixed by ground coverings that are commonly observed for nitrogen fixation (Barnes & Hughes 1999). This fixed nitrogen was then released into the ecosystem through multiple different means, such as: the algae being consumed and the nitrogen being released as fish faeces; sections of the algae becoming displaced during strong waters and being released across the reef; or the algae directly releasing the fixed nitrogen into solution, which it does roughly 50% of the time (Barnes & Hughes 1999). By releasing this fixed nitrogen, it can be taken up by organisms such as phytoplankton and the surrounding areas of the coral reef can gradually become nitrogen-rich, allowing larger marine life to flourish (O’Neil & Capone 2008). Alongside fixing nitrogen, coral reefs have also been shown to aid in the distribution of nutrients in coastal environments. Coral reefs themselves are generally low in nutrients, stemming from the fact that they mostly grow in tropical areas, where the water simply