Corals: Effects And Effects Of Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are found in shallow tropical waters along the shores of islands and continents. Coral bleaching is a topic that gets left in the dust. Not many people really pay attention or show much interest in it. Widespread bleaching, involving major coral reef regions and resulting in mass coral mortality has raised concerns about linkage of the events to global phenomenons including global warming or climate change and increased UV radiation from ozone depletion. Corals provide a lot not just for us humans but for marine life as well. Marine Biology provides information about how bleaching happens and how it affects the coral. Buchheims’ article is full of logos and a few pathos while the other source is full of ethos. In The Nature Conservancy’s director Stephanie Wear provides us with lots of professional opinions

Coral bleaching is normally characterized by the expulsion of the zooxanthellae algae, loss of algal pigmentation, or both. Coral bleaching events have had serious effects on corals and reefs worldwide. What is crucial to the understanding of zooxanthellae expulsion and bleaching is how the density of zooxanthellae within the coral is changing, if at all, under the prevailing range of environmental conditions (Gates and Edmunds, 1999). Over the last twenty years, there has been a dramatic increase in both the frequency and intensity of coral bleaching events. Sixty major bleaching events have been reported between 1960 and 1979, whereas only nine were reported prior to 1979 (Huppert and Stone, 1998). Given the dependence of the coral on this symbiotic algae, it is important to determine the cause of these bleaching events. According to Helvarg (2000, p.12):

Since early 1998, climate change has been demonstrating its effects in increasing the ocean 's temperature (West & Salm, 2003). Warm water stress corals causing the phenomenon known as coral bleaching, by which expulsion of colourful symbiotic algae the zooxanthellae, vital for

Bleached corals have reduced growth rates and have an elevated mortality rate. Coral bleaching also affects species such as fish and invertebrates that depend on living coral for food and shelter. Changes in the population and composition of reef fish occur when the corals they utilized are killed as a result of coral bleaching. Reefs affected by coral bleaching lose the aesthetic appeal that is fundamental to reef tourism. This aspect is highly relevant to the Great Barrier Reef because it is a popular tourist destination. It is estimated that the current bleached state of the Great Barrier Reef will cause Australia a loss of $1 billion in tourist income. Finally, coral reefs can be farmed for pharmaceutical compounds used to treat heart disease and cancer among other diseases. Bleached and dead corals are far less likely to provide these

The Barrier Reef is the largest reef in the world, and it is located in Australia. It is made up of different types of coral and fish, but sadly the reef is bleaching. Bleaching is the process of water temperatures getting too warm and as a result coral reefs can bleach. When water gets too warm, corals will get rid of the algae living inside their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. Although, when coral reefs turn white this does not mean that they are dead, coral reefs can actually survive a bleaching event. It just means that the coral is under a lot of stress and

In 1980, NOAA’s marine biologist started noticing the coral bleaching. There has been three important coral reef bleaching events in the history. The first global bleaching event “El Niño” was in 1998, it was a “huge underwater heatwave killed 16% of the corals on reefs around the world” . The second bleaching event was in 2010 and was called La Niña. This event affected especially areas near Palau and Micronesia in the Pacific. In October of 2015, NOAA announced the third global bleaching event in which has already become the longest event recorded, affecting coral reefs for consecutive years.

The bleaching of coral reefs is when warm water forces algae to leave the reef. Once the algae disappear, the coral goes from a vibrant color to a pale white. As one marine biologist said, “You go from a vibrant, three-dimensional structure teeming with life, teeming with color, to a flat pavement...” This bleaching makes the coral more vulnerable to diseases and a greater risk of death. The biggest bleaching events to have occurred in

Coral reefs are located in tropical oceans near the equator. The largest coral reef can be found in Australia, it is called the Great Barrier Reef. the second largest coral reef can be found on the coast of Belize, in Central America. They can also be found in Hawaii, the red sea, and other tropical oceans. Reef-building corals can't tolerate water temperatures below 64 ℉ . many grow, temperatures of 73℉ - 84℉ . they can tolerate temperatures as high as 104℉ for short periods of time.

The coral reef’s ecosystem are in major threat of the current bleaching events. Coral reefs are the main marine environment, which includes a variety of over 4,000 fish, and 800 different type of hard coral (“Corals”). Over 25 percent of marine animals are supported by the coral environment (“Coral Reefs”). The reefs are a key element of the ocean’s ecosystem (“Coral Reef Destruction”). Water temperatures are estimated to keep rising in the decades to come, which intensifies coral bleaching and other problems like black band disease, and white plague. These illnesses cause a majority of the coral to die, which will then lead to their ecosystem to plummet (“Global Warming”). Research as estimated that one to eight million organisms are yet unknown to scientists

There are multiple human factors that can and are affecting the coral reef ecosystems globally. One of the simpler ones is overfishing practices on the reef. An influx of people living in the tropics has caused major stress on coral reefs as a main food source. This can cause major effects on not only fish species, but the whole ecosystem. One article from volume 5, number 9 of the Conservation biology journal written in 1995 by Callum M Roberts from the University of the Virgin Islands reported that overfishing on the coral reef leads to a reduction of species biodiversity, and potential localised extinction of both the target species and other species that are indiscriminately fished from the coral reef. Loss of keystone species, for example, predators, such as triggerfish and pufferfish, of echinoderms, such as sea urchins, through overfishing can affect not just fish communities but the entire ecosystem, leading to major effects on reef processes (Callum M Roberts).

Humans can also help reduce coral bleaching by reducing pollution, protecting food webs, and managing key functional groups: reef constructers, herbivores and bioeroders. Strong international policies should be passed on the reduction rate of global warming. Research experiments, samples and modeling needs to be

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.

Whenever someone hear about bleaching, they automatically think about this strong potent chemical used for clothing to make it stain-free, the pungent smell when they open the door to a pool, or when someone plans on dyeing their hair to a lighter color. Bleaching is very useful for humans, but is it good for the environment? Has anyone heard of coral bleaching? Coral bleaching has nothing to do with chemicals at all, in fact it is called coral bleaching because when coral is bleached, it becomes white like when a t-shirt is bleached (though too much bleach can eat a hole). Coral bleaching has been a problem these past few years on the East coast of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. It has been declining in its beautiful

Coral reefs are living structures comprised of the exoskeletons of a marine organism known as polyps. Polyps are animals that have a symbiotic relationship with algae that lives inside the polyps and provides the coral with energy through photosynthesis, which is the process of turning light into energy, and the coral provides a safe place for the algae to reside in. Bleaching in corals occurs when environmental stressors cause the coral to eject the algae from itself, causing the coral to lose its pigment and its main way of producing energy (Kenneth et al. 540). It is estimated that 30% of coral reefs around the world have been damaged or destroyed by bleaching, and about 60% of the world’s coral reefs are at risk from bleaching (Lönnstedt et al 1178-1185).

The important issue of coral reefs recovering from bleaching is one of the most relevant issues for our local area. Coral reefs bleach the top coral as a way of saving the other coral when it is being put in tough conditions. This only kills the top of the coral and allows the bottom coral to continue living. The coral uses bleaching to protect itself from further damage from the external conditions. The relevance of coral bleaching is very relevant in our area as we are experiencing changes from climate change as it is getting worse and worse. Coral bleaches for more than one reason. Although there are many ways that they can protect themselves before and after this has happened. Resistance, tolerance and recovery