Coral reef

Coral Reef Bleaching Coral reef bleaching, which is the whitening of diverse invertebrate taxa. The cause of the whitening is “from the loss of symbiotic zooxanthellae and/or a reduction in photosynthetic pigment concentrations in zooxanthellae residing within the gastrodermal tissues of host animals.” (P.W.Glynn) The reason why coral reef bleaching is such a concern is because the “consequences of bleaching large numbers of reef-building scleractinian corals and hydrocorals.”(P.W.Glynn)…

threats to our beautiful coral reefs. Imagine that you were doing some deep sea diving and you happen to swim along this beautiful, interesting and colorful wave of wonder made of stony corals and consist of plants, fish, clear waters, and many other creatures. Coral reefs have often been referred to as the rainforests of the ocean and they are one of the greatest wonders of the ocean. Coral reefs are underwater ecosystems that are components of a larger ecosystem. Reefs represent one of the…

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…

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…

Darwin once stated that coral reefs “rank high amongst the wonderful objects in the world”. Reefs are amazing, they are animal, they are plant, they sometimes appear dead, and they sometimes are brimming with precious life. Reefs are rainforests, filled with so much life and beauty. “It is estimated that at least half a million and possibly as many as nine million species spend part of their lives on coral reefs” (“The Sixth Extinction”, Kolbert). This chapter sadly tells us that these…

Maggie McMahon APES Period 1 October 24, 2014 Coral Reef Ecology Activity (#3) Tourists scenario: Tourists bring business to many of the countries that are surrounded by coral reefs, but the damage they do is putting the future of both tourism and the coral reef in jeopardy. Most people do not realize how fragile the reef is and carelessly destroy it without thinking, as ecologists have discovered patches of dead coral in the shape of diver's footprints. Boat anchors can break off a quarter…

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on earth. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, coral reefs support more species per unit area than any other marine environment, making them the equivalent of an aquatic rain forest (Kitch and Edwards). Occupying a mere one percent of the seafaring environment, coral reefs are home to more than one quarter of all known marine species. This translates to approximately four thousand species of fish,…

restore marine tropical coral reef system. Pertaining to the article, the coral reef system is complex and hard to reconstruct without altering the physical conditions and species that rely on it. As this study states, many of the causes for the loss of the coral reefs may be due to natural environmental factors such as the temperature changes but other causes are human influenced, such as tourisms near coral reefs. This article focuses on the reconstruction of tropical coral reefs with natural…

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.…

So, if just one part of a reef fails or dies, all of these animals and many more die. Now that you see how many creatures are affected by pollution, let’s get into the pollution itself. Over ¼ of coral reefs are threatened by onshore activities. There are six main forms of pollution that worry scientists the most. They are: • Pesticides; many pesticides and fertilizers find their way into our oceans. This may not sound too bad, but they boost the growth rates of the algae, which blocks much…