Coral Bleaching Research Paper

Global climate change: there is now sufficient evidence that global climate change, the emission an accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, has had multiple effects on coral reefs. (Lesser, 2010) Terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems are all affected by climate change. Coral is a vital part of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem, without it there would be cascading effects. Coral bleaching is primarily caused by ocean temperature increase, but can also be caused by increased sunlight exposure and pollution from runoff. In order to prevent coral bleaching, there are many actions individuals can take.

Coral plays a crucial role in the Great Barrier Reefs ecosystem. They are abundant in biodiversity, play a key role in stabilizing coastlines and are a source of food and livelihood for 125 million people world wide (Hoegh-Guldberg, 2006). Everything from water filtration and fish reproduction to erosion prevention. Millions of marine species are contingent upon coral reefs to feed, …show more content…
The pie chart above shows the sources of Australian emissions. From these emissions, there are many visible ways of how you can prevent coral bleaching as an individual such as; cutting back on electricity, using public transport or car pooling, limiting meat intake and growing your own produce where you can. There are also many other ways, to prevent coral bleaching for example; if you are boating around reefs do not anchor, if you are diving in a reef do not touch the coral, volunteer in community reef programs, rally together to put pressure on the government to protect coral reefs, do not pollute, conserve water- the less water you use, the less runoff and waste water, and finally recycle. These are just a few things you can do to prevent coral bleaching and save the