Ingenious Coralbots May Help Restore Coral Reefs

Corals build colonies that secrete calcium carbonate to form ocean reefs. When they're healthy, coral reefs provide shelter and food for animals all along the food chain, including the top: us. Across the planet, half a billion people rely, directly and indirectly, on corals for their living. That's why what happens to the 9,000-year-old Great Barrier Reef, as well as to other reefs worldwide, is critical. The floods in Queensland have hurt the Great Barrier Reef by funnelling into the ocean vast plumes of freshwater and agricultural runoff that could severely damage the coral. Besides the extreme rain that sparked the floods, rising ocean temperatures, changes to the ocean's chemistry and the global trade in natural resources — all symptoms of our fossil-fuel economy — are waging a multiform war on the marine

Coral reefs not only protect coastlines and beaches from wave damage and erosion, but also are the basis for the fishing and tourism industries. Dying reefs is a worldwide problem, and evidence shows that 10% of the entire world’s coral has died, and 60% will die by 2020 if existing conditions continue (NOAA 2000). The reason that the Australian Great Barrier Reef is so important is because not only is it the largest barrier reef in the world, but it is also one of the most evolved models of how to best manage and protect the world’s largest reef system (Ornitz 1996). It extends for 2,340 kilometers (km), covers 345,000 square km and contains 2,900 reefs, 300 coral cays and 600 continental islands (White 1999). Historically, it has been ahead of the rest of the world in terms of recognizing and addressing problems associated with reef degradation.

"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."

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.

Glover’s Reef is a part of the second largest reef system in the world, the Belize Reef. In recent years, mostly due to tourism growth and the respective development for the tourists, ocean pollution has damaged many of species that live in Belize Reef. While the government has imposed a national reservation on the area that protects it from human destruction, it simply has not had the effect expected. On the Glover Reef, a research facility was created to gain a better understand of coral in the area and the best way to protect it. The hopeful future is that the research project gives scientist insight on how to protect the entirety of the Belize Barrier Reef System.

Irreversible destruction is occurring to our coral reef system. The majority of this destruction is caused by the human race. It is important that the people of the world come together to determine how to keep our precious resources in tact for future generations.

I was walking along the beach and all the sudden I felt a sharp pain in my foot. I looked down, and saw that I had stepped on a sharp piece rock that had washed up on the shore. I looked out to the horizon and saw a trawler pulling up their net and inside was a dolphin. It was thrashing and could Each time the seafloor or reefs are dredged, it results in a mess. The nets used are made of heavy chain mesh. When they are dragged across the ocean floor and the reefs, it stirs up sand, clay, rocks, shells, and sediment. This makes the water cloudy, unenjoyable, and it destroys the reefs that actually protect the shoreline! The rocks and sediment wash up on shore and if you step on a crushed shell or a piece of rock, it really hurts! The cost for

Besides being a spectacle to look at, coral reefs are also one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. In addition to ⅓ of all fish (not just species) spend at least a portion of their lives on a reef, they are also home to mollusks, sponges, turtles, and a plethora of different species of coral (Basic Facts, 2014). Coral reefs also can protect coastlines from wave erosion and also help support fisherman that depend on the reef as their livelihood. Contrary to the

When I walk into the California Coast, I saw a giant fish that made me feel surprised. We can see different fishes, coral reef and other marine organisms in there. There had two things that attracted my eyes, which were the flashlight fish and the beautiful coral reef. The flashlight fish was very interesting because we can see some light in their body in the darker environment. I learned that flashlight fish appear to blink by blocking the bacteria from view. They either rotate the light organ or cover it with a flap of skin. Only we saw the real flashlight fish that known how interesting these fishes looked. In addition, I saw many colorful coral reefs. I learned that the bleaching of coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef was very serious, so I was glad to see so many colorful coral reefs in here. I saw that some underwater structures may look like rock, but they were the skeletal remains of tiny animals called coral polyps. And I learned that thousands of known species, from fish and jellyfish to sponges and sea stars, all hide, breed, and feed in and around coral reefs. In order to see the colorful coral reefs in the sea, human should stop to pollute the

Many types of coral have a special symbiotic relationship with a ting marine algae called zooxanthellae that lives inside corals’ tissues and are very efficient food producers that provide up to 90% of energy that corals require to grow and reproduce (GBRMPA, 2016). Bleaching occurs when the relationship between the zooxanthellae and their coral host breaks down. This can be caused by a number of environmental stresses,

Responsible for more than one quarter of the ocean’s biodiversity, coral reefs or “rainforest of the sea” not only harbor millions of species but also provide daily nutrients to sustain marine life. Coral reefs prove to be an asset humans by offering food, economic services, and protection. However, coral reefs are experiencing rapid decline in locations which they once thrived due to harmful human activities; these activities is identified by pollution, overfishing or aggressive fishing, and tourism. Bordering coastlines of tropical countries these rocks shield humans by weakening powerful waves during storms. Sturdy but not indestructible they can easily crumple apart in rough weather, but not enough to potentially be fatal. Although laws

While the first text stated that the “coral bots” would help the most with the mission to expand coral reefs around the world, the second passage said that another method to improve coral reef growth was to put steel cages underwater close to a reef and supply the cage with a small electric current to attract the reef organisms called polyps. The method of coral bots would probably cost a large amount of money due to the testing and manufacturing. The steel cages on the other hand are just cages made of steel with electric current running through it.

By comparing the actual amount of sea life from the census with the predicted natural amount and plotting that against human populations, the researchers were able to put a clear number on the influence of humans on the sustainability of our coral reefs. And this number is very

In a conclusion, coral reefs has contributed a lot not only for the aquatic and marine organisms but to human in economy sector too. Mostly organisms in the ocean depends on coral reefs for food, protection from predators and interaction between organisms that lived in the coral reefs. Example of interaction that can be seen in coral reefs is mutualism. In The Great Barrier Reefs, mutualism interaction can be observed between the sea anemone and clownfish. Both organisms obtained benefits as sea anemone is an ideal home for clownfish for protection whereas clownfish helps to lure other fishes to come closer so that sea anemone can catch them for foods (CAC, n.d.). If the coral reefs are affected, it will causing the imbalance of ecosystem

Coral reefs are one of, if not, the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth are being destroyed at a rapid pace. Just recently in the past few weeks, the great reef barrier had been declared ~25% dead and people were freaking out on twitter. Before I took this class, I had no clue how much coral reefs meant to us and to the organisms they are home to. Coral reefs are not only a home to ecosystems, but they also provide billions of dollars in food, jobs, and provide coastal protection. Coral reefs are being affected and destroyed by humans in many ways, some are; water pollution, mining and construction around sea coasts, and climate change. The greatest threat is climate change caused by global warming, due to greenhouse gases resulting from human activities. Rising temperatures are warming the ocean, and due to the rise in temperature coral reefs are bleaching. During coral bleaching the corals turn white, because they lose pigment due to expelling the algae zooxanthellae. The research being done is vital because we get a better understanding of coral reefs and how we can better manage corals and if they can adapt and survive rapid climate change.