Marine Protected Areas : A Way Of Increasing Resilience

The oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. The well-being of the ocean is constantly being threatened and needs to stop. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems suffer and become endangered along with the lives of people and marine life. The importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world 's coasts must be recognized because they are truly irreplaceable. If humans are not educated , and become careless about what is thrown on the ground or sprayed on lawns, disastrous effects follow when it comes to the condition of the ocean’s ecosystems, which can endanger life itself, leading to a problem only we can correct. There is historical evidence of ocean pollution, although the problem still shadows us today.

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.

Marine pollution is not a new phenomenon, but our acknowledgement of its impacts and severity is relatively new, with the first laws and discussions to counter it only appearing in the 1950’s. For much of history, it was thought that the oceans were so large that any pollution created would be negligible and easily diluted (Marine Pollution). Since, countless research and laws have been implemented in order to preserve our marine ecosystems because of how crucial these ecosystems are to humanity.

** As you can see the marine biome is SUPER important and we have a responsibility to protect it. Read the following national geographic to find out how: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/oceans/take-action/10-things-you-can-do-to-save-the-ocean/

The marine biome is tremendously impacted by the effects of climate change. The sea levels have been rising, the water temperature has been rising, organism’s habitats have been destroyed, the tides are coming in stronger, the ocean is acidifying and many more things that will end up impacting all of us and the rest of the world in a very big way. Climate change is real and the proof is right in front of us. Flooding in major cities, el nino, more frequent natural disasters, wildfires, heat waves, and so much more. The facts are right there, we have just been too blind, too egotistical, to imperfect, to realize that we have changed the world. We did not mean to but we did so we need to fix what we caused.

A recent recipient of a prestigious $1.25 million award Skoll Award for social innovation, Blue Ventures is on

In the article, “National Marine Sanctuaries,” the author’s National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) illustrates the idea that the changing of climate change is changing marine sanctuaries. For example, ocean acidification, warming seawater temperatures and changes in currents and upwelling are all causes of climate change. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is looking to see what they can do to change and make the oceans and marine life a better place to live.

Overfishing has been recognized as one of the most serious issues facing humanity all over the world. There are severe consequences as a result of overfishing. Damaging fish stocks and habitat degradation are leading to ecosystem collapses. In addition, the extinction or even the depletion in some species such as Cod fish would affect the food chain. There will be no fish after 40 years if overfishing is continues and no practical action is taken (Shao, 2009). Finally, a solution to solve this problem is urgent as overfishing is clearly damaging our marine ecosystem. Of possible solutions proposed. Building marine protected areas (MPA's) are the most feasible and sustainable solution to address this problem. It would increase the fishing resources and protect the balance of the food chain.

In relation to my Unit Study work, my group and I are focusing on marine biology, which is an important aspect of the article. Currently, we are studying the inhabitants of the ocean, and their specific habitats. Because the guiding question for this work pertains to the relationship of society and nature and its development over time, this article will be an excellent basis to begin this research. Additionally, this article provided me with a much needed understanding of the importance of coral reefs to marine animals, which I will be able to convey in the

Artificial reefs will be critical in evaluating social and ecological goals of decommissioned platforms, the efficacy of any possible rigs-to-reefs programme in present-day and future presentation of artificial reef (Schroeder and Love 2004). As a result, there is the likelihood that different stakeholder assembly will compete to define the goal of decommissioning as artificial reefs (Techera and Chandler 2015). Therefore, in this research, the host of participant perspectives concerning rigs-to-reefs agenda into three dissimilar groups, with each defined mainly by one public concern: community membership, resource accessibility, and environmental issues (Salcido 2005). Though an individual

The Pacific Ocean Paradise documentary shows how human impact can cause the ocean to become in danger by reducing or killing the life in the ocean. The Tahiti reefs shows a great example how human impact has had a destructive toll on the corals becoming smaller and most of them dead. But not only are the corals affected but also the sharks became smaller in size and fewer in number. Today one of the healthiest ecosystem is Millennium Atoll a unique under water landscape undamaged by the human footprint. Where the corals look like they use to look hundreds of years ago and ruled by predators but even here there is disturbing evidence of man.

dependency will indicate how sensitive people are to OA harming marine organisms. Alaskan’s reliance on shellfish, salmon and their subsequent sensitivity to OA harming these resources will be represented as a function of economic (fisheries) and nutritional (protein supply) importance. People’s reliance on other marine resources, such as mollusks, and their sensitivity to OA harming the mollusk populations, will be represented as a function of the ecosystem services. Adaptive Capacity will involves the ‘capacity’ of environmental and human systems to prepare for, respond to, cope with or recover from changes due to OA by using data from the sensitivity analysis. Indicators of the capacity of Alaska fisheries and coastal communities to deal

A predominant resource in our oceans are fish and other marine species. In recent times, fish have been caught with less effort due to new technologies, improved equipment and human’s need for money. Fishermen have started capturing fish at a faster rate than they can be reproduced. This is known as overfishing which leads to degradation of our oceans. The fishing industry is growing as the demand for seafood is increasing. This leads to many negative issues, the main issue being the loss of species and ecosystems which can lead to humans losing such a valuable source of food. What makes matters worse is that other marine species are caught and destroyed for no purpose in the process. Scientists predict the commercial extinction of marine life if this trend continues. This raises the question “should more be done to sustainably manage ocean fishing?”

There is a myriad of issues that are affecting the ocean ecosystems and marine biodiversity. The threat to marine life has a huge impact which is caused by many factors. As men continue to ignore how to truly take care of mother nature, man will, sure enough, suffer in the coming years.

Seagrasses are essential primary producers that provide habitat and refuge to fauna. Anthropogenic influences have caused global loss of seagrasses and a major contributor is eutrophication, which increases phytoplankton and algal populations, reduces light availability, and causes daily hypoxic conditions. Eutrophication is commonly linked to declines in temperate conditions and is more difficult to link to tropical systems since decreases are typically related to physical damage and diminishing light conditions from runoff. Climate change, herbivore declines, disease and overfishing, along with anthropogenic impacts from coastal development, run-off, eutrophication, and aquaculture have caused declines in coral reefs and mangrove systems. These three systems are interconnected and when one system is impacted, secondary impacts are observed in the other systems; coastal ecosystems will be adversely effected and decline. Additional research, conservation, and ways to reduce anthropogenic impacts have been discussed. Restoration is used to reverse habitat loss, although success is varied. Coastal systems and the biological and ecosystem services they provide, may take decades to establish. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are instituted to protect systems from further degradation, restore communities and allow them to flourish naturally. However, local residents are affected by MPAs and may become displaced, have restriction placed on their livelihood, or elimination of their