Human Overpopulation And Its Effects On Coral Reefs

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders around the world. It is approximately 344,400 kilometers long. The Great Barrier Reef is home to many marine organisms. More than 1,500 species of fish live in the Great Barrier Reef. The coral that forms The Great Barrier Reef is made of polyps. Billions of living coral polyps are attached to the reef. The colour of these polyps range from blue, green, purple, red and yellow. As the largest living structure on the planet, the Great Barrier Reef is incredibly plentiful and various. Stretching 2300 kilometers, this natural icon is so large it can even be seen from outer space. While it’s known mostly for its large maze of colorful reefs, its intricate architecture also provides a home for a huge number of plants and creatures. There are multiple reasons as why the Great Barrier Reef is important, as it helps protect coastlines from the detrimental effects of waves and storms, provides habitats and protection for many marine organisms, help in nutrient recycling and is the source of nitrogen and other essential foods for marine food chains.

It is one of the world's natural wonders, covering an area larger than Italy and drawing nearly 2 million tourists every year to boat, swim, snorkel and dive amid its elaborate flora and fauna. It generates some $6 billion in revenue for Australia annually which equates to about 19 Airbus A380’s or 1,333 Lamborghini Veneno roadsters at 4.5 Million each, and the great barrier reef provides employment to more than 50,000 people- enough to almost fill Adelaide oval. It's also one of the planet's most fragile ecosystems, home to more than 11,000 species that live, if not necessarily in harmony, in a careful

How the Australian Great Barrier Reef Succeeds at Preservation and Sustainable Use and How it Applies to a Worldwide Problem

Cyclones and storms are natural events that also have devastating impacts on coral reefs. An example of this is Cyclone Ingrid in 2005 which ripped through about 10% of the Great Barrier Reef lifting many tonnes worth of coral two or three meters in diameter around ‘like marbles’. This caused avalanches of sediment and coral skeletons which smothered everything underneath. Coral reefs take between two to twenty years to recover after storms such as these. (Source 13) The depressing fact is that with the El Nino effect as a result of global

Because the GBR is such a highly visited tourist attraction for snorkeling and diving, there has been a large number of human structures that have been built in natural areas. Every five years, the Australian government publishes an Outlook Report that examines the Great Barrier Reef’s health, pressures, and likely future. “The report is required under Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (section 54) and aims to provide a regular and reliable means of assessing reef health and management in an accountable and transparent way.” The report shows the actions that have been taken since 2009, including the focus on improving the quality of water that runs off the land. The increased freshwater run-off is in direct relation to the coastal development that has occurred since the major bleaching events have begun. The report released in 2009, states that the greatest risks to the Reef are still climate change, land-based runoff, coastal development, and some remaining impacts of fishing and illegal fishing and poaching. The report points out climate change as being the main cause of the destruction or bleaching of the reef (Department of Environment and Energy 2017). Most observers conclude that the climate change is a direct result of human

Consisting of less than 1% of the world oceans, the coral reefs are ancient animals comprising of thin calcium carbonate deposits within the photic layer. Aside from its biologically diverse ecosystems, coral reefs are major source of food for millions and provides habitats and nursery areas for many marine organisms. Coral reefs also act as a physical buffer to protect the coastlines from tropical storms and erosion. In addition, many local communities rely on coral reefs to generate an income through activities such as fishing and diving. However, 75% of the coral reefs are under threat from induced impacts of humans and climate change (Burke, et al., 2011). This essay looks at the human impacts constantly being inflicted on coral reefs.

The Great Barrier Reef is under threat due to many human impacts and natural impacts. These impacts lead to other consequences that may harm our society as well. For example, if the Great Barrier Reef was to be damaged by pollution, tourism levels would decrease, which can lead to a drop in the economic stance of Australia. For these reasons, it is important to keep our ecosystems safe and protected. Some of the human impacts towards the Great Barrier Reef include:

Located in tropical ocean waters, coral reefs provide priceless resources to both human and marine life. The leading natural cause of destruction among the coral reefs is global warming. Other natural causes are earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons. The destruction to the coral reefs from these natural disasters is minimal compared to the dangers caused by man. Man-made destruction has a much wider impact on the health of the coral reefs. This destruction includes over-fishing, damage from anchors, aquarium industry, overgrowth of seaweed, and being smothered by sediments.

While government officials looked the other way, half of the coral has disappeared from along the length of the Great Barrier Reef. Additionally, vast areas of the reef’s coral have suffered serious degradation. It isn’t surprising that the area’s unique level of biodiversity is being threatened by the damage as well.

Barrier reefs are defined as, a coral reef running parallel to the shore but separated from it by a channel of deep water ("About The Reef“). These reefs are all over the world and are some of the most beautiful sites to see. In fact, one of the seven wonders of the natural world is a barrier reef. The Great Barrier Reef is in Australia off the Queensland coast ("About The Reef“). The reef stretches around 1,800 miles down the Queensland coast, and can get to 40 miles wide ("About The Reef“). The Great Barrier Reef is home to many animals including: 1,500 species of fish, 200 types of birds, and 20 different types of reptiles ("About The Reef “). The amount of life that lives in these waters just add to the amazement of the Great Barrier Reef. Many people go to this reef for many different reasons. People go to see the amazing coral reefs, humpback whale breeding, and many endangered species ("About The Reef”). Although there are so many beautiful aspects of the Great Barrier Reef, there are many things that make it a Not-so Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is one of Australia’s first and most significant world heritage sites. It is also one of the most ecologically diverse and the largest reef systems worldwide (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 2013). Anthropogenic pressure on the GBR dates back to 150 years ago. Land clearing, agriculture, overfishing, poaching of endangered species such as humpback whales and human-induced climate change have posed a serious threat to GBR’s biodiversity in the past and present (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 2013). Over the past 30 years, issues relating to water quality and irresponsible poaching and fishing practices have been addressed effectively. The Marine Park Zoning Plan of 2003 and Great Barrier reef water quality protection plan have become the primary management tools for GBR, along with a $375 million grant by the Queensland government to support various policy instruments such as a daily cap on some fish catches, protection zones for endangered species such as dugongs and improved reef monitoring and collaboration wih the local community (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

The Great Barrier Reef is a huge, complex ecosystem located off the east coast of northern Queensland and is considered as an ecosystem at risk. It stretches approximately 2300km from Papua New Guinea’s Fly River in the north (8⁰S) to Fraser Island in the south (24⁰S) and has become the largest World Heritage site in the world. It has 1500 of the worlds 13 000 fish species in it area, 200 bird species, 5oo species of seaweed, 600 species of echinoderm, 125 species of shark and ray and around 360 species of hard coral.

Australia’s scientists have released its comprehensive map of the Great Barrier Reef’s bleached corals revealing that less than 36% of the areas explored have not been severely bleached yet. The bleaching is caused by abnormally hot waters due to El Niño and climate change. These high temperatures cause corals’ symbiotic algae, which is their crucial food source, to become scarce and toxic, forcing the corals to expel it. Removing the algae turns the coral bone white and the coral begins to starve. Of the 911 individual reefs that researchers surveyed, a large 93%-843 reefs-experienced some kind of bleaching. Furthermore, the Great Barrier Reef is home to more than 1,500 different kinds of fish, 6 of the worlds remain seven marine turtle species

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.

For a reef to develop successfully, it needs to grow in water that is greater than 18°C and less than 29°C and live in shallow clear water to allow for maximal light penetration, key for photosynthesis. However if the temperatures exceed more than 29 degrees for several hours upon end, coral bleaching is apparent. When corals begin to bleach they expel Zooxanthellae algae (which lives within the coral tissue), the coral transforms a pale white and in turn means it is extremely vulnerable and subject to increased fatalities. Furthermore, the presence of Tropical Cyclones can cause heavy physical damage to the reef, by breaking down coral colonies and displacing them from the reef structure.