Region's Biodiversity: Rainforest Of The Ocean

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.

"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.

Coral reefs are greatly hurt by tourism. When tourism first began, people had little regard for the delicate balance in the reefs. They would often break off parts of the coral to keep as souvenirs, damaging the area and hurting both the corals and the fish or other animals that relied on it. While humans today are more aware of the damage they cause, regular visitations can still create great damage by snorkelers or divers accidentally hitting and damaging the reefs.

    Coral reef destruction is a big deal. There are many environmental threats on coral reefs which means they are slowly dying. Coral reefs play a very important part in marine ecosystems. Sea creatures depend on them for protection, camouflage, as a home, and also for food. Scientists believe this could be from natural causes like erosion, and global warming as reasons that coral reefs die off but one of the main reasons is pollution. There are many different ways pollution can affect coral reefs. There is a chemical in sunscreen called oxybenzone that may be contributing to the destruction of coral reefs as swimmers are trying to protect their skin. This chemical has toxic effects on young coral that can damage their DNA,

Construction of hotels, recreation and other facilities often leads to increased sewage pollution. Wastewater has polluted seas and lakes surrounding tourist attractions, damaging the flora and fauna. Sewage runoff causes serious damage to coral reefs because it stimulates the growth of algae, which cover the filter-feeding corals, hindering their ability to survive. Changes

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 say, hunger, poverty and political instability could ensue."

Conservationists around the world are putting their best foot forward in an attempt to save the coral reefs. Coral reefs today are at a high risk of damage because of all the attention drawn to them by tourists. There are some islands that make all their money through tourism and exploiting the coral reefs, giving snorkel and scuba diving trips to guests that have traveled from around the world. Many people travel to these places with amazing under water worlds and they come extremely uneducated about these beautiful masterpieces. Tourists will drop their anchors on top of corals and drive their boats over corals, causing severe damage that will take the coral years and years to replenish. There are always new ways to enhance the lives of the

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

There are multiple human factors that can and are affecting the coral reef ecosystems globally. One of the simpler ones is overfishing practices on the reef. An influx of people living in the tropics has caused major stress on coral reefs as a main food source. This can cause major effects on not only fish species, but the whole ecosystem. One article from volume 5, number 9 of the Conservation biology journal written in 1995 by Callum M Roberts from the University of the Virgin Islands reported that overfishing on the coral reef leads to a reduction of species biodiversity, and potential localised extinction of both the target species and other species that are indiscriminately fished from the coral reef. Loss of keystone species, for example, predators, such as triggerfish and pufferfish, of echinoderms, such as sea urchins, through overfishing can affect not just fish communities but the entire ecosystem, leading to major effects on reef processes (Callum M Roberts).

In an article by David Stauth, a student at Oregon State, showed how pollutants can effect coral. Pollution can lead to coral diseases and coral bleaching as well. A study conducted in the Florida Keys shows that from pollution diseases in coral doubled and the signs of stress in coral tripled. One astonishing thing however is when the pollution was removed the coral was able to recover in a short amount of time. Using relief acts to clean the water of sewage and other pollutants could help the coral reefs to strengthen themselves to deal with other stress factors that they may face such as coral bleaching. Reducing pollution not only helps the water and coral it will help keep the environment clean. Not only would cleaning the pollution help adapt the coral to the climate change, but it also would repopulate the ocean since a majority of its species lives around the coral

Coral reefs have suffered degradation due to anthropogenic activities for decades. The direct and indirect effects of overfishing and pollution from agriculture and land development have been the major drivers of coral reef decline over the past two centuries. More importantly, these threats to coral reefs have been compounded and exacerbated by superimposed impacts of global climate change, such as rising sea temperature and level, and increased ocean acidification. (T. P. Hughes, 2003)

Many people have gone scuba diving at some point in their lifetime, even going out to some of the world's most famous and beautiful coral reefs such as the Great Barrier reef or the Belize Barrier reef. But doing so does more harm than good, adding on to reasons for their decline. When doing recreational activities like these many touch coral reefs which can devastate and eventually kill an entire colony. In addition, when any type of boat is above a coral reef the harm done can be monumental, as boat groundings and damage from anchors can cause the breaking of the coral reefs, scraping, and there is always the potential for a accidental oil spill which can permanently kill coral reefs. Furthermore, coral reefs are being over exploited for a number of reasons. Coral mining is used to obtain coral to sell as jewelry, medicine, and some construction materials. But the methods for removing coral are disastrous as they use mining blasts which could lead to a coral reefs death. In addition, our own fishing markets are over fishing and have used incredibly harmful ways to catch the most fish in one go possible. This has the same effects as coral mining because the coral reefs have the potential to deteriorate, taking an incredibly long time to regenerate, or even cause its death. Although, coral reefs have been most gravely impacted by pollution and the detrimental effects of global warming. Due to a rise in ocean pollution, coral reefs can be impacted in a number of ways. One being the fact that it can cause disease to appear on the coral, but also lengthen the reproduction of coral. Due to plastics large numbers with in the ocean it can also cause the death of numerous marine organisms and other reef species. Furthermore, coral reefs are greatly impacted by climate change, which is

The most significant threat to coral reefs is human interaction. People use coral reefs for a lot of things. They provide us with jobs, coral reefs bring in 30 billion dollars a year, the most they have ever brought in was 170 billion dollars in a year. Even though they help us so much we harm them in many different ways. Humans overfish, we pollute the ocean, and we change the ocean chemistry. These things kill the coral.

However, many fisherman are unable to catch as many fish as they used to, so they are increasingly using cyanide and dynamite in fishing, which further degrades the coral reef ecosystem.[6] This perpetuation of bad habits simply leads to the further decline of coral reefs and therefore perpetuating the problem. One solution to stopping this cycle is to educate the local community about why conservation of marine spaces that include coral reefs is important.[7] Once the local communities understand the personal stakes at risk then they will actually fight to preserve the reefs. Conserving coral reefs has many economic, social, and ecological benefits, not only for the people who live on these islands, but for people throughout the world as well.