Great Barrier Reef

The Pacific Ocean Paradise documents the reefs of five islands named Flint, Vostok, Starbuck, Malden, and Millennium Atoll. With a small group of people that go on a mission to raise awareness and show “ ocean lovers” what is going on at these reefs of the islands. The leader of the group is Dr. Enric Sala who is a research scientist and Natural Geographic Explorer. He sees Tahiti as an almost impossible goal to preserve and is looking for untouched places where no humans have been. They say it…

Beside from its aesthetic value, coral reefs provide a range of goods and services, which are essential to humankind. For an environment that covers less than 1 percent of Earth’s surface, coral reefs “produce an estimated $30 billion of revenue from direct use values such as tourism and fishing, and indirect use values such as coastal protection” (“Coral Reefs: Importance,” 2016). Reefs also provide protection to our land by “reducing the resilience of waves during storms thereby preventing…

1. Introduction 1.1 Coral Decline Coral reef is a highly diverse ecosystem that provides many environmental, economical and social benefits to humans (Barker & Roberts 2004; Hughes et al. 2010). Approximately 20% of coral has been lost worldwide (Wilkinson 2006) with an 80% loss in the Caribbean basin (Jackson et al. 2014). Due to this decline steps must be taken to conserve and restore the marine ecosystems. The most prominent causes of decline are global warming (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999),…

Humans Need To Change the Way 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…

back on the catamaran to go to another location to snorkel. When we got to the Coral Gardens, it was very different from the Barrier Reef. It had different types of fish and even stingrays. The stingrays frightened me because they weren’t used to being around people like the ones at the Stingray Sandbar. The fish there were more colorful and abundant than at the Barrier Reef. There was even a squid! After we were done, we got back on the catamaran and headed back to the tour bus. It took us…

The Nature Conservancy’s video “Help Kelly Slater Save Our Oceans” has a deeper meaning that you may not see just from watching the video and not understanding what Kelly is trying to Portray. But if you can overcome this hurdle and grasp the true meaning behind what he says and how he views the ocean as this serene and tranquil place of beauty. You’ll be able to see the ocean as Kelly does in the video. So by understanding the meaning and message behind the video you can see just how well 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…

the genus Symbiodinium, also known as zooxanthellae because of their yellow–brown color” (Douglas A.E, 2003). Coral communities that have been devastated by coral bleaching are left looking gray and white with very minimal signs of life. Where coral reefs harbor millions of different species and are one of the most majestic ecosystems in oceans. Corals and Symbiodinium species have a symbiotic relationship. Symbiodium possess different types of chlorophyll and carotenoids which provide nutrients…

If we do not change our ways, there will be neither a sea, nor will there be a place to call home. Changes in the sea affect all of us, not just the creatures swimming in it. In “My Wish: Protect Our Oceans,” an idea expressed live on the TED talk stage, Sylvia Earle shares her discoveries on how the oceans creatures, and its natural resources have been depleted by more than ninety percent in the last fifty years. According to the TED talk website, “TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to…

Shelldon Clamsworth is a coral farmer, that lives on the outskirts of the Grand Reef. Coral farmers harvest coral, a valued resource in the reef, for King Shellington. The life of a coral farmer is hard, not only harvesting coral, but fighting to survive the brutal currents on the outskirts of the reef, and the creatures that lurk there. Not a day goes by that Shelldon has to fight off some sort of crab or fish. Shelldon had the appearance that most coral farmers did, rugged, with bland colors…