Coral reefs experience overfishing as well as blast and poison fishing. Overfishing in coral reefs cause a change in the reefs overall ecosystem. The biodiversity of a coral reef can be threatened when fish species are removed or thinned along the reef. Each species of plant and marine life is important to a coral reef since each one has specific role to play within the reef’s ecosystem. There is a find balance that the reefs need in the amounts of oxygen, salt, and nutrient content that marine life keeps in check. (Human Impact on the Great Barrier Reef) The overall loss of biodiversity in a coral reef has led to the net value loss of $1.2 billion over 20 years in the Philippines and $1.9 billion in Indonesia. (Cesar, Burke, & Pet-Soede, 2003, p.25) Overfishing just doesn’t hurt the fishing industry when fish numbers begin to dwindle. Tourism is hit hard with the reduction in scuba divers, which are come to see a wide variety of marine…
threats to coral reefs health today (Roberts, 2009). It causes many negative direct and indirect effects on aquatic structure and communities, and in many cases, leads to species extirpation or extinction (Roberts, 2009). Fish species within the coral reef ecosystems play important functioning roles that help support many different coral reef processes (Bellwood et al., 2004). Species richness and high levels of biodiversity are important for ecosystem performance and coral reef functionality…
of ecocentrism is the Coral Reef Conservation Act. Under this act, the Coral Reef Task Force maps and monitors…
They Think About Coral Reefs What can be done by humans to take better of the world’s coral reefs? Many people don’t realize that coral reefs are a necessity to support marine life. Currently it is estimated that 10% of the world’s coral reefs have been wiped out and in the Philippines 70% of the coral reefs have been destroyed because of human intervention (Coral Reef Destruction and Conservation). This will be one of humanity’s biggest problems in the near future. By not purchasing certain…
human impact on reef systems, both positive and negative. There are five main negative impacts that humans are currently having on reef systems worldwide. They are overfishing, deforestation, coastal development, coral disease and pollution. Overfishing, and other destructive fishing practices have been identified for a very long time as the most pervasive out of all local threats facing coral reefs. More than half of the world’s reefs are threatened by overfishing and this increases to 95% of…
leading to climate change is something we can adapt to, but it’s causing a change that the Coral Reefs are not acclimated to live in.The changes and industrializations we bring affects the climate. This problem has been named and clarified as climate change. Since the industrial revolution our climate has changed drastically. Industrial waste is now a necessary problem that collides with our daily life. This lifestyle can be too much for the fragile ecosystems our world holds. The rise of…
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…
Biodiversity of Coral Reefs By: Ganesh Balaji Ecology is a macro-scale science that encompasses all biological life. However, in order to fully understand the depth of ecology, and its significance in relation to life on earth, one must study the biodiversity of the species living in this planet. Although the history of modern human civilizations has largely ignored the importance and complexity of biodiversity, understanding the many layers of biodiversity will provide us with richer knowledge…
The article “Forecasted Coral Reef Decline in Marine Biodiversity Hotspots under Climate Change” examines the suitability of habitats for coral reef development and growth concerning mainly the factor of thermal tolerance. Coral reefs are home to many species and these habitats are key for maintaining biodiversity, yet under climate change this highly diverse system is very vulnerable, especially to changing sea surface temperatures. A slight increase in sea surface temperature can lead to mass…
Coral reefs throughout the world are experiencing various levels of decay. While only ten percent of the world’s overall coral reef population has been completely destroyed, in hard-hit places like the Philippines over 70 percent of coral reefs have been lost, while just a measly 5 percent can be said to be in truly good condition. The causes behind the widespread destruction of coral reefs are many, all acting simultaneously to contribute to the problem. Firstly, humans serve as a huge…