Palmata Case Study

A case study that was carried out a few years ago states that since 2005, the caribbean region has lost 50 percent of its corals, mainly due to the effects caused by the increase of temperatures. From 1997 to 1998, mass bleaching is estimated to have caused severe effects to 16 percent of the world’s coral reefs. Even though signs of recovery have been seen in

Global temperatures are steadily rising due to anthropogenic causes; this increase in temperature is causing changes to ocean properties that can impact the organisms that call this medium their home. One of the most evident impacts of climate change on the world’s oceans is the resulting raise in ocean surface temperatures. Rising ocean temperatures can directly affect biogenic reef building organisms like corals which produce some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in the world. Previous studies within this field have determined that climate change is a notable stressor for these corals causing large scale bleaching events; where they release their photosynthetic symbionts. Once the symbionts of these organisms are released corals begin to starve and ultimately die resulting in

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):

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 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

Coral reef ecosystems around the globe are threatened by human interferences and climate change. This has led to many scientists conducting studies on global coral reef ecosystems to gain a better understanding of the cause and effects of coral reef damage. In both Hodgson’s (1999) and Carpenter et al.’s (2008) studies, they are aware of the continuous degradation of global coral reef ecosystems. Hodgson's study involved conducting a survey on global coral reef ecosystems to see whether human actions were affecting the health of supposed pristine Coral reefs. Carpenter et al. incorporated Hodgson’s study into a compiled study about the possible extinction of reef building corals due to climate change and anthropogenic effects. Carpenter’s

This article focuses on how some international scientist’s measurement and analysis the ocean heat using past and present tools. Such as weather and climate data, the Global Temperature-Salinity reports, the World Ocean Database, the Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST) dataset, and the Global Argo Data Repository of ocean temperatures. Sea surface temperatures in our Global Climate Reports. The study shows the importance of the ocean and the changes in heat distribution between the ocean basins are important for understanding future climate change.

Biophysical interactions refer to the ways in which the four spheres, atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere interact with each other, which in turn leads to their diverse ecosystem functioning and the extent and nature to which they operate. The Great Barrier Reef is a diverse underwater marine ecosystem located off the coast of northern Queensland, it stretches 2300km to Fraser Island, has 3 000 different reefs and it is considered the largest living structure on the planet. The biophysical interactions including the dynamics of weather and climate, geomorphic and hydrological process biogeographical processes and the adjustments in response to natural stress all lead to the diversity and functioning of the Great Barrier Reef

Recently, the scientific community has investigated the effects of chemicals found in sunscreen, specifically oxybenzone, on coral health. The properties of this chemical impede coral reproduction through endocrine disruption and planulae dissolution as well as promote viral infections in the symbiotic dinoflagellate found in coral. The effects of oxybenzone potentially boost coral bleaching and harm population dynamics, however before concluding what level of aggression is needed to combat oxybenzone, additional research is needed to improve our overall understanding of its impacts on specific coral species and various geographic locations.

Firstly, it seems critical to understand why such a previously-abundant species is now listed as “critically endangered”. According to the same organization, one major reason for this has been the increase of coral predators. Recall that the zooxanthellae within coral tissue is very attractive to many grazers; one of these grazers being the parrotfish. Due to overfishing, the predators of parrotfish cease to exist in large numbers, allowing these fish to frolic around destroying coral in their path. This, however, is an incredibly insignificant detail of coral destruction when compared to the outbreaks of disease occurring among them. Dive among the reefs off the Caribbean islands and it is likely that you would find a large amount of staghorn or elkhorn coral with white bands at their base (white band disease) or white, dead material dotted about the branches (white pox disease). Marine biologists have noticed these grave problems, and started cultivating both species of corals by asexually reproducing them by breaking off pieces, then growing out those pieces (fragging). This technique works well with elkhorn and staghorn corals as they have an extremely rapid growth rate. One large downside to fragging, however, is that only identical offspring is produced. Thus, no colonies grown will have any resistance toward disease any more than the parent organism had. In closing, the many factors threatening the survival of these two corals have sparked great interest among scientists, driving them to restore their

Coral bleaching has increased dramatically over the past 50 years, as the oceans temperature and acidification has risen, all a result of the increasing amounts of CO2. “Rising Carbon Dioxide levels in the world’s oceans due to climate change combined with rising sea temperatures, could accelerate coral bleaching, destroying some reefs before 2050” (Sayer, 2008). Susannah Sayler (Australian scientist) tested this theory on 30 large aquarias in the waters off Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef. Using CO2 and temperatures predicted for the middle and end of the century, the scientists found ocean acidification from CO2, which reduces coral calcification, had the potential to increase bleaching and the death of reef-building organisms (Perry,

It warned that pollution is undermining the health of coral, rendering it unable to resist bleaching or recover from the effects”(Fears).

Corals play an important role in the marine environment, providing a habitat for many marine organisms and assisting in carbon and nitrogen fixing (Bauer). Corals also provide essential nutrients that many organisms need to grow. These very important functions make diseases that threaten them especially concerning. One disease that has become common in the Florida Keys and Carribean is white pox disease. White pox disease, also known as acroporid serratiosis, is characterized by irregularly shaped, distinct white patches lacking coral tissue (Sutherland et al. 2004). Though white pox disease only affects Acropora palmata or Elkhorn corals, a species of coral found in the Florida Keys and Carribean, the tissue-eradicating lesions spread throughout

The Great Barrier Reef alone contains 1400 different species of coral (Stokes et al., 2004), which is an aquatic invertebrate that provides a home to millions of different species of organisms. In the past decade the number of coral species classified as endangered has increased (Sarkar & Ghosh, 2013), with coral bleaching being the main, underlying cause (Lukoschek et al., 2013). Coral bleaching is part of the natural evolution of coral, however several mass bleaching incidences have occurred in recent decades due too human activity (Lesser, 2007). A mass global bleaching event in 2010 sparked the attention of scientists around the world as to the impact coral bleaching has on the surrounding environment and urged scientists to further pursue possible methods to overcome coral bleaching. This essay will outline what coral bleaching is and the overall impact it has on the environment. Additionally, a conclusion will be drawn as to whether enough is being done to decrease coral bleaching incidences.

The coral reef is a diverse place with fish, invertebrates, living coral and a host of other organisms that live closely together to provide a diverse community, but a coral reef is not without its issues. Apart from predators the fish on the reef, like land animals, can be attacked by parasites. These parasites can attack a fish feeding upon its blood and other bodily fluids reducing the fish’s ability to fight off infections and disease and in some cases, when the parasite load is particularly bad, even kill the