The Impact of Scuba Diving on Marine Biodiversity

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.

Human use and tourism is one of the main reasons the Great Barrier Reef is such an astounding place. The reef consists of more than 400 different kinds of corals, over 1,500 species of fish, and over 200 types of birds (2011). The tourism industry is a major contributor to the local and Australian economy. The range of activities for tourists include day tours, overnight and extended tours, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, whale watching, helicopter tours, and other services that capitalizes on the world’s fascination with it. (2011). The earliest occurance of tourism was in the late 1890’s, when this area became a

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

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.

First, I am going to talk about the importance of coral reefs. Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth. They are home to 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard coral, and hundreds of other species. Scientists believe that there are another 1 to 8 million unidentified species (NOAA). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, new drugs are being developed from

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.

Furthermore, extraction of building materials such as sand affects coral reefs, mangroves, and hinterland forests, leading to erosion and destruction of habitats. Overbuilding and extensive paving of shorelines can result in destruction of habitats and disruption of land-sea connections such as sea-turtle nesting spots. Coral reefs are especially fragile marine ecosystems and are suffering worldwide from reef-based tourism developments. Evidence suggests a variety of impacts to coastline ecosystems result from shoreline development, increased sediments in the water, trampling by tourists and divers, ship groundings, pollution from sewage, overfishing, and fishing with poisons and explosives that destroy coral

Developing organizations, such as The Ocean Agency and the Coral Restoration Foundation, have been raising concern in efforts to conserve and furthermore sustain aquatic life and the ecosystem in which they inhabit. These unique fish, found living and populating among the coral reef, face a level of degradation and life threatening obstacles. The coral reef acts as a home to more than a quarter of the know fish species, where their population and species have been widely studied. This ecosystem is a beautiful representation of life which supports, and is supported by other neighboring ecosystems; embodying a significance as the leading consumer item for those who live along the reefs. Their importance to our planets collective ecosystem is not fully understood, due to the way these ecosystems are interconnected to one another, but nevertheless illustrates an example of a struggling life which may provide problems for both terrestrial and aquatic life-forms. Aside from the human dependency, being that “More than 450 million people live within 60 kilometers of coral reefs, with the majority directly or

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

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.

The coral reef surveyors were instructed to find the best sites that they believed had the most living coral and were thought to be least affected by human activities. This would allow Hodgson to determine if human activities were having an appreciable effect on the supposed pristine coral reefs, which were distant from urban centers. The invertebrate survey was undertaken at two depth intervals of 3m and 10m. Four 0.5 m wide by 20 m long belts were placed on the coral reef. Over a period of 3-5 minutes the observers counted the number of invertebrates found on the belts. The coral survey was performed, by placing four 20 m long belts on the coral substrate. At 0.5 m intervals the substrate on which the belts were lying was examined and recorded.

One of the main ways that human’s impact coral reefs that could be avoid is coastal development that produces unsustainable tourism. Today, people are constantly looking for tropical places to vacation and adventure on these tropical islands. Since coral reefs can only be supported in tropical waters, they tend to be located by nice beaches on popular islands. The Caribbean is one of the best examples of this. Countries such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic are generally poor countries with little development. Over the past years, these islands with tropical waters and coral reefs have began to build more and more resorts

The internet offered a plentiful, broad source of information and its accessibility made it a manageable and valuable secondary research process. Through using this research process, I acquired the background information of the Great Barrier Reef (Great Barrier Reef, 2017) as well as the summary of the tourism operations located across the Great Barrier Reef (Australian Government, 2017). The information that I gathered from this research process was useful to my research and was included in the final outcome. Additionally, there were substantial benefits of using this research process as it provided a large amount of resources that provided reliable and valid information that could be cross – referenced with other sources. This research process was also manageable and its ease of accessibility allowed research to be conducted across a range of locations. The sources provided from the internet searches were ensured to be reliable, credible and valid when comparing their information to information from

“Coral reefs are extremely important for biodiversity, providing a home to over 25% of all marine life. They are also vital for people and business. They provide nurseries for many species of commercially important fish, protection of coastal areas from storm waves, and are a significant attraction for the tourism industry”

The deterioration of coral reefs is mainly linked to human activities – 88% of coral reefs are threatened through various reasons as