The Great Barrier Reef Of Australia 's 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

Tourism in Australia has evolved over the years and continues to increase to this day, however it is the effects that tourists have the ability to place on the Southern Great Barrier Reef which are potentially threatening for, not only the reef of lady Elliot Island, however, the corals surrounding it. “International visitations within Australia alone reached 3.9 million visitors within the first 7 months of 2014, which was an increase of approximately 9.5%, a number which continues to rise” (Tourism Australia, 2015). However, with this increasing number, comes possible damaging effects to the surrounding reefs of Lady Elliot Island, possibly leading to the excessive damage of corals due to activities and infrastructure requirements

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

Economic development is mostly compatible with maintaining the long-term biodiversity and ecosystem functions of the Great Barrier Reef as shown by its economic contribution. In north-east Queensland

The Great Barrier Reef is an oceanic/costal ecosystem off the coastline of Port Douglas, Australia. There are man costal systems that are significant to the role of the Reef including coral reefs, wetlands, and rainforests etc. The reef consists of many diverse corals and is a home for over 1,500 different species of fish. The reef is unique for many distinctive reasons; a reason that is unique is that it is acknowledged as one of the most imperative biological possessions. The Reef is a complex ecosystem with numerous organisms trusting on each other for nourishment and endurance. Broadly all collections of maritime plants and animals are extravagantly signified in the Reef. The animals range from dugongs

Human activity largely impacts the Great Barrier Reef, from tourists to wider world issues such as climate change humans are widely responsible for damaging many ecosystems. Tourism has both negative and positive effects on the Great Barrier Reef. The main positive is the revenue that the tourism creates for local communities, this money can also go towards the upkeep of the area surrounding the Great Barrier Reef, and also by helping spread the message of how delicate the Great Barrier Reef’s ecosystem is. However tourism also has many negative impacts on the Great Barrier Reef. With more people in one area, the demand for natural resources increases. This can result in the overuse of natural resources as well as producing more waste and pollution. Some tourists may also not obey the rules at the Great Barrier Reef, this can cause damage to different organisms in the Great Barrier Reef.

Marine Park Authority’s conduct an outlook report every five years which examines the Great Barrier Reef’s health, highlighting current and future pressures. This

Big chunks of the Great Barrier Reef are dying and it is causing a big impact in Australia. For example, Australia gets billions of dollars for tourism per year, but if the reefs keep on dying the economy will be affected. Since Australia is the largest coal exporter, the last thing that they don’t want to do is make the situation worse. Also, scientist warned that if they keep on burning fossil fuels, it will expose greenhouse gases, causing the ocean to warm. Whenever the water is two or three degrees Fahrenheit of too much warming can sometimes kill the reefs. Fish sometimes use coral reefs as protection from predators.. Many people get their protein from reef fish, but with the loss of that food source it could become a humanitarian problem.

Over the past year, 12 percent of the oceans reefs have become bleached due to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification and in turn coral bleaching, is due to carbon pollution causing global warming, this makes the oceans warmer, thus making them more acidic. Coral reefs and shellfish cannot survive these levels of acid in the water. In particular the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, is suffering from this bleaching. The Great Barrier Reef has been declining in recent years due to this acidification, however, as of recently it has come knocking on death 's door. Carbon levels started rising about 200 years ago during the industrial revolution, because the machines invented started pumping carbon dioxide

While traveling through the spectacular continent of Australia you will find yourself discovering many local beauties.The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and most known coral reef ecosystem in all of the world. This massive reef covers over 1800 miles or approximately 2000 kilometers and thrives in the untouched and undeveloped waters of the pacific ocean. This incredible reef contains thousands of different species including coral, fish, birds, reptiles and so much more. Among many of Australia's flourishing tourist attractions the Great Barrier reef tops all others. Not only is this location a beautiful spot to look at it offers many attractions above and below the water. Snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing,

The Great Barrier Reef is one ot the most popular places in the world to visit with over 2 million visitors each year. It is located along the coast of Australia and home to the world’s largest collection of corals. It also hold many species of animals as well as a few endangered species. But think, if we aren’t careful, in as soon as just fifty years, the reef could be dead, killing all life it contains along with it. Because the Great Barrier Reef is often misunderstood, it is importsnt to know the facts about the glory of the reef, its devestatingly decline, and ways we can help enhance it.

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the largest and diverse coral ecosystem, and is home to a variety of organisms (Commonwealth of Australia 2016a). However due to environmental and anthropogenic events including climate change, pollution, poor fishing practices, mining and industrialisation (World Wildlife Fund 2016) the GBR is under threat of coral bleaching, eventually causing significant destruction to the ecosystem (Australian Marine Conservation Society 2016). There are numerous sustainability projects to improve the health of the reef including Reef Alliance-Growing a Great Barrier Reef, which is a partnered project of the Reef Trust Sustainability Project Phase Three. This scheme has been implemented to reduce the runoff of pollutants

The Great Barrier Reef is occupied by the worlds most diverse species of animals. It is a major tourist attraction, with economical benefits and an ecosystem so serine with great tranquility and current. However, is it really that great? Well, it used to be. The Great Barrier Reef is being harshly affected by climate change and the industrialisation of the fossil fuel industries, which are its biggest threats. The corals that occupy marine life are being bleached and ripped away. The reef is dying at a rapid pace, quicker than any body would expect. It is seen to the majority of the world as an “out of site out of mind issue”, however, it really is the elephant in the room.

Joshua Reichert (2001) claims in The San Francisco Chronicle that Austria’s Great Barrier Reef, the biggest in the world, has been dying, and half of it may be lost within a few decades. He explains the reason why reefs are dying and warns the people of the remaining reefs that are becoming endangered because of pollution, sedimentation, destructive fishing practices and global climate change. Similarly, he explains the importance of reefs as it provides medicine, an attraction for the tourists generating revenue for the countries and provides seawalls to stop tides and hurricanes. Moreover he gives us suggestions how to solve the problem for the reefs. He tells us to do fishing carefully or look for a safer way to do fishing.

Did you know, almost 1 million square kilometres of the Coral Sea are located in Australian waters? (The Conversation, 2017). The Coral Sea consists of pristine ecosystems, a globally recognised number and diversity of large ocean predators and is known as a biodiversity hot spot (Marine Conservation, 2017). There are a cultural significance as there are 104 shipwrecks in this sea however, only 8 have been found (Marine Conservation, 2017). 49 magnificent types of habitats and over 300 threatened species are supported by the Coral Sea (Marine Conservation, 2017). There are declines in multiple species but, did you know that the Coral Sea is 1 of the last places on earth where some of those species have not yet been severely depleted (Marine Conservation, 2017). This is because of the already ‘no-take’ zones in the area, imagine if we closed off more of the Coral Sea. There would be more variety of species, an overflowing amount of the species that were previously threatened and more dive spots for tourists and locals to explore and experience our magnificent ocean. The Coral Sea Marine Park will attract more marine life to the region as there is more shelter and protection from predators. This will cause more fishing and tourism opportunities around the coastal towns and the Islands in and near the Coral Sea