Coral Reef Research Paper

According to “Scitable”, over “1 billion people depend on food from coral reefs, and reefs as a whole might be worth around $172 billion for every year they continue to provide essential services to humans, like food.” Humans get these food sources from coral reefs through fishing. Another physical thing that we can get from coral reefs is medicine. Because coral reefs contain lots of good chemicals and fungi that can be turned into medicine, they are a great source for many diseases. Examples also “Coral Reef Alliance” that medicine from coral reefs could cure are “cardiovascular diseases, ulcers, leukemia, lymphoma, and skin cancer, all from chemicals in reef plants and animals. Other compounds reduce inflammation, kill viruses, and relax muscle.”

Cultural: According to “Coral Reef Alliance”, 25% of biodiversity in oceans are located in coral reefs. This allows scuba divers to enjoy the scenery that is all the animals. Another thing that people might enjoy from coral reefs is fishing and tourism. According to a source by “Biodiscovery and the Great Barrier Reef”, “The Great Barrier Reef …show more content…
According to an article called “Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels 'Will Hit Coral Reefs Harder”, “Every time you start your car or turn on the lights, half the CO2 you emit ends up in the oceans, turning them just a tiny bit more acidic, as well as causing the climate to warm.” Coral reefs can absorb carbon dioxide from the air because coral reefs contain zooxanthellae which absorb co2 and performs photosynthesis. Another thing that coral reefs are good is shoreline protection. A source called “Coral reefs provide protection from storms and rising sea levels, Stanford research finds” says that “Coral reefs protect an estimated 200 million people from natural disasters and rising sea levels.” Coral reefs can protect us from storms waves because they act as a barrier when can slow down