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. The negative human impacts on the ocean …show more content…
“Runoff carries nutrients sediments, and pollution from land-based sources and deposits them directly onto our reefs.(http://wwf.panda.org/).” Too many nutrients create algal growth creating a decrease in oxygen levels leading to the condition, Eutrophication. Erosion by construction, inland or along coasts, mining, logging and farming increases sediment in rivers. This then ends up in the ocean where it smothers corals by trapping them from the light which is needed to survive. Sedimentation limits the light ability to the corals inhibiting their ability to feed and reproduce. Sewage and untreated wastewater carry a deadly bacteria and pathogen that can infect and kill corals. Hotels and resorts can discharge untreated sewage and wastewater into the ocean, creating a growth of algae creating a competition for space with corals. Dredging activities to make marinas or deep-water channels causes sensitive habitats to be destroyed or disturbed and from the waste of the dumping in the ocean. Research shows that humans in fact contribute a lot to the destruction of the coral reefs and is an issue that needs to be resolved in a short matter of time. There are many possible ways to protect, but