Coral bleaching

largest island and first of the true Florida Keys, formed from fossilized coral reef. The islands farther north in the park are transitional islands of coral and sand. The offshore portion of the park includes the northernmost region of the Florida Reef, one of the largest coral reefs in the world. Biscayne National Park protects four distinct ecosystems: the shoreline mangrove swamp, the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay, the coral limestone keys and the offshore Florida Reef. The shoreline…

Giant Barrel Sponges are very unique animals. They are found in tropical areas in the Caribbean. They are benthic animals, living at depths from 10-30 m. They have the highest density cover and greatest volume of any organism living in their environment. If they are left undisturbed they can grow to massive sizes. Giant Barrel Sponges can come in many different colors also. Sponges don't move around they are stationary and stay in one place there whole life. Except when the sponges reproduce…

The crown of thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) , a large multiple-armed starfish that prays on hard coral polyps, can be found in and throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Some predators of these species are Giant Triton snail, the stars and stripes pufferfish, titan triggerfish and the humphead maori wrasse. 2.2 What causes COTS outbreaks: The cause of Cots outbreaks are not 100% certain but one of the most widely accepted hypothesis is that the outbreaks of COTS are caused and…

Coral Endangerment and Carbon Emissions Robert Swan once said, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” It is well known that when it comes to the environment, human and destruction are synonymous. Simply look up “coral” in a search engine and you are bound to find countless articles showing how our excessive release of carbon has jeopardized reefs around the world. Yet most people, after concluding the article, still do not have the full sense of what is…

The Great Barrier Reef is a coastal habitat off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The system is the largest coral reef and living structure in the world, reaching around 2,575 in length. It’s made up of approximately 2,900 individual reefs with 900 islands. The Great Barrier Reef is the perfect habitat for many species of marine life such as coral and over one thousand five hundred species of fish. The reef contains many different life forms such as: fish, sea turtles, giant clams, sea snakes,…

A) What is a coral reef? Coral reefs are underwater ecosystems that are formed by many small animals called polyps, which through their ability to excrete calcium form the limestone skeleton that they live on. As coral reefs grow they can take on three structures fringing, barrier or atoll. The Reef located along the Queensland coastline is called the Great Barrier Reef as it is separated from the shoreline by a section of deep open water. Over many years hard coral polyps form reef structures…

Chasing Corals Essay Chasing Coral is a 1 hour 33 minutes documentary directed by Jeff Orlowski following a group of photographers and scientists as they attempt to capture the processes of coral bleaching. The plan is put together by Richard Vevers, a reef surveyor after he himself observes the effects of bleaching on a reef he recently surveyed. After teaming up with Trevor Mendelow, Zachary Rago, and other scientists, they plan to rig time lapse cameras in areas of reef, although Nature has…

In recent years, the world’s coral reefs have suffered tremendous losses in abundance as the effect that human consumption has on the environment increases. Coral reef degradation is highly influenced by food production practices such as fishing, agriculture, and animal agriculture. These human disturbances on the environment, both direct and indirect, have had lasting effects on both coral reefs and their composing ecosystems. Coral reefs serve a crucial role in the shaping of the oceans…

anyone care about coral ecosystems? Not only do coral reefs provide humans with billions of dollars in environmental services such as tourism, food, but they are extremely beneficial to the economy. So what is a coral reef? According to the NOAA, a coral reef is a “A mound or ridge of living coral, coral skeletons, and calcium carbonate deposits from other organisms such as calcareous algae, mollusks, and protozoans.” (Noaa.gov) Many people don’t realize how important the health of coral reefs…

Coral reefs provide nearly $30 billion each year in net benefits in goods and services to world economies, including, tourism, fisheries and coastal protection, but that number could diminish greatly very soon (Cesar et al. 2003). In fact, 30% of coral reefs are at risk of being lost in about the next thirty years. Millions depend on coral reefs for nutrition and income, and if the coral reefs suffer, it is very likely that people who rely on coral reef ecosystems will suffer as well.…