Coral Reef Research Paper

Superior Essays
Show More
Dear Senator/Representative,

My name is Shae Bauchens, and I am writing regarding my deep concern about how the destruction of coral reefs is eventually going to affect our every day lives as human beings, and how creating laws to stop overfishing will eliminate this issue all together. I did not grow up on a beach town, but my family and I love spending time in the sea. I love the ocean, and could not imagine what my life would be without it. It has played a huge role in my life since I was about 7 years old. My family and I vacation at least once a year, and I am a very competitive surfer, but I also like to swim, scuba dive, boat, snorkel, and I am even a lifeguard at my local pool in Cleveland. Each year my family and I vacation to different …show more content…
I have noticed some changes the past couple of vacations I have spent there, including changes in these beautiful coral reefs. It seems like every year I go, the coral reefs seem less and less bright and seem to lack the one thing I thought they were known for-life. Signing up for this course made me hope that I could learn why these amazing creatures were diminishing before my own eyes, and hopefully I could learn what to do to help. Throughout my oceanography class, I have learned an abundance of information about the ocean, but the one lecture that stood out was the one that taught me that coral reefs are amazing, mesmerizing creatures, and is so essential to the environment around us. I have also learned that coral reefs are in a huge amount of danger, while bringing the fish that feed off of them into danger also. Now that I know how these incredible creatures are being brought down, I will do anything to let everyone know that this is happening and do anything I can to help stop it. Throughout the remainder of this letter, I will present all of the positive things coral reefs bring to our world, and not only will I show you why coral reefs should be saved, but I will also show the rapid decline of the fish population that

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Coral Reef Ecology Activity
    • 1875 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Coral Reef Ecology Activity

    When the corals' health are in jeopardy, the health and overall well being of all the organisms that rely on them are at risk as well. Many organisms, along with their babies and eggs, will be exposed to predators if they do not have healthy coral reefs to depend on for shelter. Predators will have easier access to their prey if they are ever without a home, and this will result in a decline in population of the consumers lower in the trophic levels (little fish are wiped out, and predators overpopulate). If there were ever a decline in the prey population, all of the organisms higher up in the food chain would be killed off as well, since there wouldn't be enough food to keep the higher trophic levels healthy and…

    • 1875 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Coral Bleaching Research Paper
    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Coral Bleaching Research Paper

    However, about 40 percent of the 16 percent of the reefs in the world that were seriously damaged in 1998, due to coral bleaching from El Niño, are either recovering well or have fully recovered. Despite that, since 1998 coral bleaching has become even more severe. Every region has now experienced severe coral bleaching, causing much bleach-induced mortality (see figure 3) (Shah). Zooanthellae, which are what give coral their beautiful colors, live on corals and provide them with 95 percent of their energy for growth, reproduction, and feeding, making them key in coral’s survival. With climate change, this causes the water to warm up, making corals go into stress, which causes the zooxanthellae to desert the coral, which in turn causes the bleached appearance (Cesar, et al.).…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Coral Reef Environmental Effects
    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Coral Reef Environmental Effects

    Growing up in the Florida Keys, I have been surrounded by the ocean my entire life and have personally witnessed it gradually get destroyed over the years. Because of tourism playing a huge role in the Florida keys, our beaches and oceans are left polluted and leaving our reefs to extinction. Not only in the Keys, but throughout Florida our waters are heavily polluted by the great amount of tourism in our state. In the Florida Keys and the Caribbean, there has been a vast decline in staghorn and elkhorn corals leaving the reefs scattered since the 70’s. As I continued to observe and research this topic, I noticed that humans overlook the effects that they cause and focus on the benefits they receive.…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Off Great Barrier Reef Research Paper
    • 1817 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Off Great Barrier Reef Research Paper

    Australian culture is broad and varied like Australia’s landscape. It is a multicultural country and this is reflected in the food, lifestyle, daily practices and experience. Australia's has an important heritage from its original landowners the aboriginal people which continuously plays an important role in the country's landscape. Approximately 70 percent of Australia is semi arid or desert. It is a country that has been inhabited for 50,000 years, but it is considered a young country.…

    • 1817 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Barrier Reef Persuasive Speech
    • 1588 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Great Barrier Reef Persuasive Speech

    “We're seeing areas that have seen high temperatures for two to three years in a row. There's no time for corals to recover.” (Weisberger). This is a direct result of global warming. If there is not a drop in the temperature, there is a great chance that the coral will never recover and it will be lost forever.…

    • 1588 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Mesoamerican Coral Reefs: A Case Study
    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Mesoamerican Coral Reefs: A Case Study

    1. Introduction 1.1 Coral Decline Coral reef is a highly diverse ecosystem that provides many environmental, economical and social benefits to humans (Barker & Roberts 2004; Hughes et al. 2010). Approximately 20% of coral has been lost worldwide (Wilkinson 2006) with an 80% loss in the Caribbean basin (Jackson et al. 2014).…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Examples Of Ocean Acidification
    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Ocean Acidification

    Another impact on deteriorating coral reefs is the effect on the eco-tourism industry that receives its revenue from showcasing coral…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Coral Bleaching Research Paper
    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Coral Bleaching Research Paper

    Even coral that fully recovers after bleaching may have a reduced rate of reproduction In the following years. After the 1987-88 bleaching in the caribbean the species of coral Montastraea annularis did not produce any gametes (Szmant and Gassman, 1990). Another long term effect of coral bleaching is on fish populations. The size of fish populations that depend on the coral will shrink and there will be a decrease in local biodiversity. The local decline of coral in Papua New Guinea caused 75% of fish species populations to fall, 50% of the species declined to half or less than half of their original numbers and some species became locally extinct.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network
    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network

    Robert Johannes, a marine biologist, once said, “We’ve got a big environmental murder going on and no one is doing anything about it.” (Hinrichsen 3) Funding is crucial in order to maintain and ensure the survival of coral reefs all around the world. Without the reefs, there will be significant consequences. According to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, “Approximately five hundred million people depend on the coral reefs.”…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Coral Reefs
    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Coral Reefs

    The article “Hidden Battles on the Reefs: How Will Coral Reefs Fare in a Changing Ocean?” was written by Tom DeCarlo and was published in Volume 51, Issue 2 of the journal Oceanus in 2016. I accessed the article through the University of West Florida’s library’s website by searching for the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database under the “A-Z Database List.” Once in the database, one can search the title of the article in the search box to locate it. DeCarlo intended this article to be read by the general public who are interested in how a coral reef can be drowned, and survive. The main purpose is to inform readers what a drowned coral reef means and how it affects the ocean and its inhabitants.…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    The Destruction Of The Great Barrier Reef
    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Destruction Of The Great Barrier Reef

    The 2050 Reef Plan, established in March 2015 is run by a committee focused on the protection of the Great Barrier Reef. These guardian angels of the ecosystem have worked tirelessly to attempt to prevent any further injury inflicted upon the reef. In the short time the program has existed, it has made incredible progress. According to the committee's recent report, “Of 151 planned measures, including the limiting of sediment and chemical runoff from farms and the better management of starfish predators, 32 have been completed and 103 are underway or on track to begin” (Innis). This progress, while most certainly worthy of honor, did not prevent the recent mass bleaching of coral in the northern regions of the Great Barrier…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Negative Effects Of Ocean Acidification On Coralline Algae
    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Negative Effects Of Ocean Acidification On Coralline Algae

    Additionally, this bears negative consequences for other organisms, as coralline algae play a critical role in ecosystem engineering; they are vital in coral reef cementing, and are an important food source for several mollusk species (Guiontter & Fabry, 2008). Moreover, coralline algae provide critical habitat-specific settlement cues for coral larvae (Tebben et al., 2015). A number of studies have shown that ocean acidification reduces coral recruitment has deleterious effects on coral settlement rates (Kuffner et al., 2008; Doropoulos et al.,…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Ocean Acidification Essay
    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited

    Ocean Acidification Essay

    Increased ocean acidification isn’t the only thing affecting the ocean, but it is very problematic because it erodes aragonite which is a mineral of calcium carbonate. In other words it kills corals and causes the hard exoskeleton to erode. Action needs to be taken to ensure the survival of corals and the creatures that rely on coral reefs to survive. Coral reefs are sources of food for millions of people, but also are sources of medicines. As coral reefs disappear so do the organisms that are mutualistic to it.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Chasing Coral Film Analysis
    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Chasing Coral Film Analysis

    The most impactful evidence came from their time in Australia, which they used for a bulk of their presentation at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Hawaii. This type of documentation is crucial because ecosystems like coral reefs are vital for a significant portion of the world’s population. It is estimated that 500 million people utilize coral reefs as a source of their food supply and income. Of course, humans are not the only one that rely on coral reefs. According to the film 25% of all marine life rely on coral reefs, mainly as a nursery.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Coral Reef Research Papers
    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Coral Reef Research Papers

    A coral reef is very important, coral reefs have many jobs in the ocean, but these are some, “They remove and recycle carbon dioxide…”, reefs can assist with strong waves and storms by absorbing the contact, lobsters find their source of food from coral reefs, as well, without coral reefs many plants and…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings