Causes And Effects Of Coral Reefs

Six abiotic factors that affect the organisms living in the ecosystem are sunlight, temperature, the density, the buoyancy level, the salinity level, and the penetration of light. The sunlight entering the ecosystem allows the process of photosynthesis to continue. This process provided nutrients, food, and energy to the plants and animals in the area, allowing the food chain to be secure. The temperature of the water should be between 68 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperatures go lower than the range, or higher, some organisms who use the coral reef as a habitat may not be able to adapt or survive in the new conditions. The density of the coral reef affects the communities of animals and other biotic factors since some of them can only survive between certain depths of the water. The buoyancy level of the water in the coral reef contributes to the ability to move for the animals. Buoyancy is the force that supports an organism’s weight. The salinity level in a coral reef is greater than the salinity in a freshwater ecosystem. If the salinity levels

I am writing about the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The natural marine sanctuary has been In Florida. There are much fish In the sanctuary, but there is only one kind of species that Is really important to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The thing that is really popular or important is the coral polyps. Now the coral polyps is a flower. It has tiny, soft sea anemone. Just like animals that make a cup of calcium carbonate around themselves for their own protection. Thousands and thousands of these tiny polyps build all their skeletons together to form a colony. They keep building the skeletons on top of each other and sometimes It grows up to hundreds of meters tall. Did you know there are four main types of coral habitat in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary? The coral polyps are the

Developing organizations, such as The Ocean Agency and the Coral Restoration Foundation, have been raising concern in efforts to conserve and furthermore sustain aquatic life and the ecosystem in which they inhabit. These unique fish, found living and populating among the coral reef, face a level of degradation and life threatening obstacles. The coral reef acts as a home to more than a quarter of the know fish species, where their population and species have been widely studied. This ecosystem is a beautiful representation of life which supports, and is supported by other neighboring ecosystems; embodying a significance as the leading consumer item for those who live along the reefs. Their importance to our planets collective ecosystem is not fully understood, due to the way these ecosystems are interconnected to one another, but nevertheless illustrates an example of a struggling life which may provide problems for both terrestrial and aquatic life-forms. Aside from the human dependency, being that “More than 450 million people live within 60 kilometers of coral reefs, with the majority directly or

When thinking of oceans, people imagine the only living things that are in the waters are fish and small organisms. But there is much more some individuals may not know. Some shallow and deep oceans are home to coral. These groups of coral are classified as marine invertebrates. They breathe and consume microscopic animals called zooplankton. Coral reefs receive their energy from the sunlight, they turn it sugars for their energy. The marine invertebrates are living things that are a vital part of the ocean and human beings. Saldy these communities are in major trouble

Scenario: You are marine biologist presenting a seminar titled ‘coral reefs under threat’, which discusses human impact on reef systems. A sceptical member of the audience questions whether there is sufficient evidence to support your claims, and goes on to state that maybe the issues regarding coral reefs have simply been exaggerated by the media, environmentalists and scientists.

Marine ecosystems can be split into coastal and ocean habitats. Coastal habitats extend from the shoreline at the beach to the edge of the continental shelf, way out further than swimming distance. These habitats are home to many kinds of life including fish, corals, birds and even bacteria. All these organisms are part of a long and complex food web and all depend on each other to survive. These ecosystems also provide a vast number of animals with protection from predators and are also extremely important to humans by providing a rich source of food and income through fishing and aquatic activities. They also support species by providing humans with half the oxygen we breathe to survive and they can support species that serve as animal feed, fertilizers, additives in food, make-up and medicines. Other organisms of this habitat aid in protection and structure such as mangroves and seagrasses which protect the coastline from wave action and erosion.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, the world’s largest coral reef system extends across 2,300 kilometres just off the north-east coast of Australia. The bio-diverse natural reef is the largest living structure on the planet, so big it is visible from space (Great Barrier Reef Foundation, 2017). Unfortunately, the Great Barrier Reef is under threat. There are several elements influencing the rapid decline in the coral ecosystems health. This qualitative study will explore the affects coral bleaching is having on the coral ecosystem of The Great Barrier

Imagine the ocean, our beautiful blue, red, and green galore coral reefs supporting nearly a quarter of the oceans marine wildlife, simply being stripped away. Unfortunately this isn't a fantasy, but a key global issue happening in our oceans today. Due to environmental issues occurring in the ocean such as competition and predation, but now a days, most impacting is marine pollution and ocean acidification, causing a rapid decline in coral reef habitats, impacting our world as we know it. Coral reefs are greatly important to our world because they are one of the most diverse ecosystems, containing over 25% of all marine species, in addition to providing essential environments for marine food chains. Reefs are physically as well as biologically

Coral reefs are home to more than four thousand species of fish and eight hundred hard coral species and are among the most biologically diverse environments on the planet, being home to thirty-two of the thirty-four phylum known to exist. These critical ecosystems also serve to protect the coastlines from storms, absorbing over ninety percent of force from wind generated waves. Coral reefs also provide economic benefits to coastal cities drawing tourists as well as commercial and recreational fisherman to the area. Across the globe Coral reefs and their surrounding communities are at risk, of sedimentation, eutrophication, toxicity, and coral bleaching due to changes in the environment from agricultural and terrestrial runoff. A wide variety of biogenous and terragenous materials are carried into the river by wind and rain and eventually are emptied into the oceans where they can potentially damage coral reefs.

“The world's finest wilderness lies beneath the waves” (Wyland). Bright, vibrant colors overlapping each other in an overall peaceful looking fight to the death for the dim rays of sunshine flowing through the shallow waves above. These places all thrive from the saying “help others to help yourself” because everyone works together to keep the coral reefs running. The fish eat the bacteria off the coral that could kill off all the coral if it builds up enough. This mutualistic relationship in the coral reefs have been going on for centuries, but what happens if one very important factor leaves the relationship: Total Collapse.

Coral is the building block for a niche underwater ecosystem that consists of diverse sea life. These ecosystems are known as coral reefs and are named so due to the limestone (calcium carbonate) that is secreted by the coral lifeform. (Baker, Glynn and Riegal 2008) Coral reefs are host to such a diverse population of sea life, some of which may be endemic to the reef, that the destruction of them can cause large scale damage to populations. When under a lot of stress, the vibrant colours that are iconic to coral start to fade, thus the term coral bleaching. (Baker, Glynn and Riegal 2008) If the coral is left like this and its stressful conditions disappear it will eventually return to its vibrant colour, unfortunately if the stressor continues the coral will die. (Baker, Glynn and Riegal 2008) Reef building occurs over hundreds of years which makes the large scale coral bleaching all the more impactful on the underwater ecosystems. Bleaching events are so severe that an entire coral reef can die off from just 1 mass event. (Baker, Glynn and Riegal 2008)

The Earth has experienced 5 notable mass extinction events to date; these extinctions have impacted coral reef systems significantly. Every occurrence of mass extinction has left the Earth without living reefs for millions of years. These intervals of absence are often termed ‘reef gaps’ (geological intervals where there are no traces of what might have been existing reefs). The sources of these ‘events’ will be discussed further. The primary causes of mass extinctions are linked to the carbon cycle and make-up of the oceans. The acidification of our oceans is argued to be the most serious of all the predicted consequences of C02 increase, due to anthropogenic behaviors. This article will be inferring that acidification has the potential

Brightly colored reefs, and a variety of creatures swarm over the Great Barrier. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system! The Great Barrier Reef has been around for an extremely long time, and it has thrived for thousands of years. Sadly, scientists have noticed that as of lately, this beautiful reef is in fact dying. Scientists have been studying the main contributors to this decline, and have been proficient in examining the smaller details. They have also been studying how the dying of this reef is not only affecting ocean ecosystems and organisms, but it has the potential to also greatly affect a part of our world’s population.

Massive Pacific-Wide Survey Links Human Presence with Coral Reef Destruction: Even Tiny Human Presence Can Cause 78% Drop in Aquatic Life

The earth can be sorted into two masses; water and land. The earth’s oceans make up of 71% of its surface and within that vast amount of water lives an amazing ecosystem know as coral reefs. Coral reefs can be coastal or deep water, each are equally important. Coral reefs are home to many species such as fish, corals, sharks, dolphins and whales, birds, and turtles. When I think of a coral reef my mind goes straight to the movie, Finding Nemo, and how at the beginning of the movie they show you the world of a coral reef. The colors are spectacular and it is full of life, lots of life actually. These ecosystems are extremely essential to our world for the reason that they provide more than just homes for many underwater species. Within the past decade scientists have started using marine organisms from coral reefs to create medicines to possibly cure day to day ailments such as; asthma, arthritis, and other inflammatory disorders (Nature.org, Coral Reefs, No date). Medicinal use is one part