Climate Change On Coral Reefs

As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, global warming will increase ocean temperatures and, along with that, the frequency and severity of bleaching events. In 2010, one of the hottest years in recorded human history, reefs bleached throughout the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean and off the coasts of Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Without the necessary reduction in the production of emissions, the death of the Great Barrier Reef will result in 6 billion dollars less in the economy and the loss of more than 50,000 jobs, If the oceans' corals were to collapse, the whole food chain will

The article talks about how climate change has affected coral reefs over the past several years. Kim Cobb who is a marine scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology said that climate change has damaged the coral, the entire reef is covered with red-brown fuzz and algae had grown over the dead coral during his last dive in the deep waters of Kiritimati Island. According to the article, Scientists believe that the damages of coral reefs are caused by the mass bleaching of coral reefs around the world, heat stress from multiple severe weather events like El Nino and climate change. As a result, more than a third of Earth’s coral reefs are threatened and many may not recover.

Dr. James Kerry from James Cook University (2017) explains that, “A temperature change of only one or two degrees for three or four weeks is enough to push corals out of their comfort zones and they then have more stress put upon them” (para. 30). This ethos argument is very effective. Doctor James Cook gives a lot of input on coral bleaching that is very interesting. If coral bleaching isn’t on your radar yet, it will be soon. The coral reef provides homes to an abundant amount of marine life. Bleaching could cause the extinction of many coral species. According to Stephanie Wear, The Nature Conservancy’s director of coral reef conservation (2017), “Recent steamy temperatures indicate a rough year ahead for the world’s coral reefs” (para. 1). About ninety-three percent of climate change heat is absorbed by the ocean. One thing to understand is that corals have a very small

The ocean is two-thirds of our planet a vast blue landscape home to many biomes which according to Boyce Thorne-Miller “(ecosystem types) corresponding to sets of environmental conditions that vary with depth, latitude, and longitude” (16). However, the ocean and its biomes is under attack from the changing environment. We can see this through coral reef biomes as they make their home near the shores. Through coral reefs we can view the effects that these changes have on the ocean through how the coral reef biome is affected. Humans are a danger to the coral reefs and the wildlife that resides in the biome. The pollution being released into the environment is poisoning the coral and causes death and malformation to the wildlife. The ocean is changing due to global warming which is causing a change in the temperature and rising water levels leading to a change in the stabile areas coral can survive. The increasing acidification of the ocean is causing the coral reefs to die. I will be looking at the effects these issues cause to coral reefs biomes and the ocean to see the similarities in how they affect both.

"Coral reefs… are fragile structures living within a narrow range of temperature, clarity, salinity and chemistry. Even a slight increase in ocean temperature, or increased CO2… can cause stresses such as bleaching… These stresses slow the rate of growth of the corrals… With some 60 percent of the world’s coral reefs now losing productivity, it’s becoming a global crisis and a scientific mystery."

coral survival, growth and reproduction leaving corals bright white. Furthermore, climate change alters the carbon dioxide concertation within the ocean causing variation of pH level through which ocean become more acidic. This event is referred to as ocean acidification. When this occurs, the corals are unable to absorb calcium carbonate needed for skeletal maintenance (Freiwald, et al., 2004). In addition, human population dynamics have increased through the 21th

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef zone in Australia and it is now being suffered by the coral bleaching. The coral reefs usually have colorful outfits and it provides a great habitat to many of ocean creatures. Nonetheless the many coral reefs in Great Barrier Reef are deforming to be white colored. There are microscopic plant cells in symbiosis with coral reefs, which requires the sun’s energy. However, since the temperature went up, the balance of symbiosis goes out, so the coral reefs releases the plant cells to the water and it makes its white color. The video states that anything that helps the climate change will also helps the coral bleaching. The coral reef zones like Great Barrier Reef are deeply related to the ocean ecosystem, so the if the destruction goes on and on, in close future our eyes might not able to see that magnificently beautiful corals anymore and many of ocean creatures. The destruction of one ecosystem doesn’t only hazardous to those creatures in that ecosystem, but it gives dangers to all ecosystem and could lead to another destruction of other

In the text the climate change effects the ocean by putting too much carbon dioxide into the oceans that are making the corals pron too bleach.

“Unusually high water temperatures have caused many coral species to lose their zooxanthellae, turn white, and die prematurely, thereby leading to a decline in reef building. Scientists predict bleaching will reduce diversity among corals and the creatures that depend on them” (“Great” World Book). Additionally, changes in the salinity of the water affects the Great Barrier Reef. Salinity is changing because of changes in climate. This is because warmer air from climate change can absorb more water than cooler air, therefore changing evaporation cycles. In places where there is more rainfall than evaporation, rainfall is increasing. In places where evaporation exceeds rainfall, evaporation is increasing. This process is widening the gap between humid and arid regions. This proves to scientists that climate change is affecting salinity (Calif). Furthermore, diseases are produced among coral because of climate change as well as pollution. Increasing temperatures are so effective on the reef that the only disease that can be treated is black-band disease (“Coral”). Ultimately, the coral in the Great Barrier Reef becomes brittle and pale because of these

A hypothesis created by a group of scientists determined that the cause for bleaching was due to stress (Brown and Ogden). This stress is closely linked to salinity changes, exposure to ultraviolet radiation in excessive amounts, huge climate changes and most importantly the increase in warm waters (Douglas ). Corals can survive in water that is between 25˚ and 29˚C. Any water temperature above that will result in the death of algae (Brown and Ogden). High ocean temperatures mixed with solar radiation are attributed to current large-scale bleaching events leading to global climate change, such as El Niño (Douglas ).

Coral reef ecosystems around the globe are threatened by human interferences and climate change. This has led to many scientists conducting studies on global coral reef ecosystems to gain a better understanding of the cause and effects of coral reef damage. In both Hodgson’s (1999) and Carpenter et al.’s (2008) studies, they are aware of the continuous degradation of global coral reef ecosystems. Hodgson's study involved conducting a survey on global coral reef ecosystems to see whether human actions were affecting the health of supposed pristine Coral reefs. Carpenter et al. incorporated Hodgson’s study into a compiled study about the possible extinction of reef building corals due to climate change and anthropogenic effects. Carpenter’s

Coral reefs are threatened by global warming. They can only live in waters between 18 C and 30 C. Therefore, with the increase in temperature of the surrounding water, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of coral bleaching events during the past 2 decades (which have had some of the warmest years in history). When ocean temperatures get too high, coral polyps lose the symbiotic algae inside them, causing them to turn white, or "bleach," and eventually die.

Oceans have a major part in protecting Earth; however ocean acidification, rising sea levels, and melting ice caps, are endangering our planet. The sea is the world's biggest carbon reservoir. As more man-made CO2 has entered the environment, a greater amount of the gas has entered the sea, and the abundance of CO2 results in ocean acidification. Warner water temperatures brought on by environmental change stress corals since they are extremely touchy to changes in temperature. On the off chance that water temperatures stay higher than common for a long time, the zooxanthella they rely on for food leave their tissue. Without zooxanthella, corals turn white since zooxanthellae give corals their color. White corals are called bleached. Bleached

Coral reefs are fragile ecosystems, and even a slight change in their marine habitat could drastically impact the corals, and other marine life too. One of the main threats to the reefs is climate change. As global warming occurs through out the world, the ocean waters will also start to get warmer, which is what is known as ocean warming. Even 2 degrees Celsius change in the water can have a massive impact on the corals. This is because the corals can feel this slight change and will start to feel stressed, and their first natural reaction is to expel their symbiotic zooxanthellae since this algae is not a part of them. The corals at this stage are now hopeless without their symbiotic partner, and will not be able to survive without

There are many causes that contribute to the ghostly image of bleached corals, pollutants in the water, natural events - hurricanes, waves, and human activities - commercial scuba diving, heavy tourism in highly biodiversed aquatic areas. Yet the one major factor that causes this bleaching is the increase in the sea surface temperatures. The warmer temperatures are results of global warming, the rising concentrations of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide.