Environmental Effects Of Coral Bleaching

Coral reefs are diverse and extensive underwater ecosystems that provide habitats for around one quarter of the oceans species, an astoundingly high number considering they make up less than two percent of the ocean floor. These reefs are held together by calcium carbonate, and the corals themselves are living creatures with protective skeletons. However, these so called “rainforests of the sea” are in danger. Coral bleaching, an event in which a general increase in water temperatures leads to a

its residents, coral reefs are well known and popular among many around the world. But the increase in these admirers has come with a price. The colorful reefs have turned white as the chemical composition of the ocean and the ocean’s temperature changes as a result of climate change (Anthony 2009). Although many claim that climate change is naturally occurring, the extent and rapidity in which it is occurring is posing a great threat to many factors in earth, including the coral reefs. Formally

Coral Reefs have a huge role in our environment, even though they only make up less than one percent of the oceans' ecosystems. They provide shelter for twenty-five percent of marine species, protect shorelines, support fishing industries, provide money from tourism, and could help scientists discover the next, big, medical breakthrough. They are so biodiverse, they are referred to as ‘the Tropical Rainforests of the Oceans’. Coral reefs are found in shallow circumtropical waters along the shore

Coral bleaching is a broad yet complex topic that involves the mutualistic and obligate symbiosis between corals and dinoflagellate algae of the genus Symbiodinium, commonly referred to as zooxanthellae. Bleaching occurs when a significant concentration of the zooxanthellae are no longer fixed on the coral, which occurs due to an inability to perform their role (Wooldridge and Done 2009). With the often colorful dinoflagellate algae gone, the coral is left as a white carbonate skeleton (Douglas 2003)

Corals are marine invertebrate species. They are found throughout all of the world’s oceans. The largest coral reefs are found in clear, shallow oceans where they thrive. According to the Coral Reef Alliance, there are hundreds of different species of coral (Brown, 1997). Corals are unique, each being of different shape, size, and color. Corals commonly get mistaken for being part of the Plantae Kingdom. In actuality, the coral is an animal referred to as a polyp, part of the Animalia Kingdom belonging

Coral Bleaching Coral reefs are the most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. There are more than 25,000 known species of organisms and countless others that have yet to be identified (Helvarg, 2000). Reefs thrive on the shallow edge of tropical seas, most often on the eastern edge of continents along warm water currents that brush the coasts. Reefs cannot live in cold waters and are limited by ocean depth and available sunlight. Coral is the foundation of the reef community, providing a

The key environmental points are that coral reefs provide important ecosystem goods and services for the maritime tropical and subtropical nations. Within the past two centuries, the main drivers of massive acceleration in the decrease of coral reef species that have caused widespread changes in reef ecosystems has been due to the direct and indirect effects of overfishing and pollution during agriculture and land development. Since markets for fish have gone global, along with other natural resources

Bleaching Away the Beauty of Coral Reefs Pretend you are about to go scuba diving in the ocean. You jump in the water and begin to sink down. As you start surveying the coral reefs around you, something catches your eye. The coral has turned white, and no longer moves with life. This whiteness seems to have spread over a large area of the reef. You no longer see the colorful branches swaying in the current, or the schools of tropical fish swimming through the leaves. This death-ridden reef

Coral reefs are unique and diverse underwater marine ecosystems that are found in many parts of the world. Today these tropical reefs suffer a great deal of environmental stresses and are projected to decline over the next century due to global warming. In Grottoli’s article: The cumulative impact of annual coral bleaching can turn some coral species winners into losers, she elaborates on the effects of annual bleaching on three species of coral. Grottoli took three species of coral such as O. Faveolata

1. Policy Description Introduction Worldwide we are facing an epidemic of large-scale Coral Reefs bleaching themselves white. Although white coral is not dead it is likely to die shortly after bleaching. The main problem is global warming, this causes overfishing, pollution and rising ocean temperatures with more acidity. Global warming is an issue that affects our planet, especially in the ocean. This problem has also an economic and political impact because "If the reefs vanished, experts