The Reef Systems Of Tela And Utila

The coastal environment I have decided to talk about today is Ningaloo Reef. The reef is on the remote western coast of Australia, it includes one of the longest nearshore reefs in the world. Temperate and tropical currents converge in the Ningaloo region resulting in highly diverse marine life including spectacular coral reefs, abundant fishes and species with special conservation significance such as turtles, whale sharks, dugongs, whales and dolphins.

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.

Coral reefs exist all over the world and are generally known as being one of the most diverse, intricate and beautiful of all existing marine habitats. They have many varying structures which are developed by algae and are symbiotic with various reef building corals which are referred to as, zooxanthellae (algae). There are many other factors such as, coralline algae, sponges and other various organisms that are combined with a number of cementation processes which also contribute to reef growth, (CORAL REEFS, 2015).

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):

The purpose of this research is to apply the knowledge learned about the ecology of the Hawaiian Coral Reef to a real-life situation. The coral reef stretches over 1,000 miles in the Pacific Ocean. In the Pacific Ocean, near the 124 islands of Hawaii, is the Hawaiian Coral Reef, which covers nearly 1,200 miles. Out of all the coral reefs in the world, the Hawaiian reef consists of 85% of all reefs. Coral Reefs are made of organisms, coral, and limestone skeletons. 25% of organisms are not existent anywhere else in the world. Abiotic factors are nonliving things, and abiotic factors of a coral reef are depth, light, wave motion, salinity, and temperature of the ocean. Biotic factors, living factors, is the whole coral reef,

A third problem the coral reefs face is strangulation by seaweed. The over-fishing of the coral reefs leads to a decrease in plant-eating fish. This leads to an overgrowth of seaweed which block the light from the coral causing death to the coral reefs. (Denecke, 2001)

While government officials looked the other way, half of the coral has disappeared from along the length of the Great Barrier Reef. Additionally, vast areas of the reef’s coral have suffered serious degradation. It isn’t surprising that the area’s unique level of biodiversity is being threatened by the damage as well.

Along the coasts of rocky beaches, an intricate ecological community inhabits the ‘rocky intertidal’ areas. The variety of rocks is home to an array of slimy, squishy, and colorful organisms. This intertidal community is comprised of nine species: three different algae, three stationary filter-feeders, and three mobile consumers. The three algae, Nori Seaweed, Black Pine, and Coral Weed, are the community’s producers and inhabit the bottom of the food chain. The next three species are stationary consumers. They are Mussel, Goose Neck Barnacle, and Acorn Barnacle. Because of their consumer status, they are more competitively dominant than algae. The last three components are the mobile consumers: Whelk, Chiton, and Starfish. They

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most beloved regions of the world but due to recent human activity in surrounding areas and subsequent sediment delivery, coral and seagrass habits within are being negatively impacted. Extending 2000km along the North-eastern Australian coast (Brodie et al., 2007), the Great Barrier Reef is a major source of income for Northern Australia and fuels the growth of local businesses. As industrialization in areas adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon have increased since European settlement (McCulloch et al., 2003), the need for more resources to compensate for human population has led to harmful land practices such as overstocking and deforestation for cattle grazing inland. These are causing a significant

The red algae Polysiphonia sp. 1 does not survive well in areas along the reef where the damselfish are not present because it is often grazed on and does not survive as well as other algae. It holds a mutualistic relationship with damselfish because while these fish do graze on the algae they do not consume it completely and allow the algae to continue to grow as well. Eighteen damselfish species were used in this study in different territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific to study their relationship with the red alga. Polysiphonia sp. 1 was found in the central Indo-Pacific but was low in abundance from the Great Barrier Reef and Mauritius, and the algae were also found in territories of fishes from the African coast. Other species of the clade in this alga were found only where damselfish inhabited the area as well. The results showed that the cultivation mutualism was maintained throughout the Indo-Pacific even though variations were seen among the mode of cultivation. From this it can be gathered that damselfish in different regions have different methods of cultivating the algae and this in turn affects the algae

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

Foveaux Strait contains unique biogenic habitats that supports an important commercial oyster fishery. Regular surveys recorded stock abundance of target oyster species and bycatch, however little is known about the algae community within this region (Michael et al., 2013). Algae can be an important habitat forming organism. In particular calcifying coralline algae has been demonstrated to facilitate the settlement of many invertebrate larvae, inhibit settlement and growth of other seaweed species and enhance local biodiversity (Nelson, 2009; McCoy & Kamenos, 2015). Coralline algae can survive in conditions not typical of other fleshy algae species such as low light and high sand scouring conditions within the Strait (McCoy & Kamenos, 2015).

After the two and half month survey, the data was collected and interpreted by various means: Cluster analysis, Coral Reef Health Index (CRHI) and Distance Population Index (DPI). The coral reef site that had the highest number of a specific indicator organism was to be used as the baseline indicating the healthiest reef. The other sites would be measured of that site and compared for that specific organism. The cluster analysis divided the sites into nine groups of shared characteristics. This allowed Hodgson to determine if reefs of differing natural and anthropogenic factors were

The Great Barrier Reef has many species that depend on seagrass not only for food but for a habitat and a nursery. Most of the animals that use sea grass for a habitat like juvenile and small adult fish, use the seagrass to escape from larger predators. Species such as clams, worms, crabs, starfishes, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins, use the seagrasses for protection against strong currents. Animals like blue swimmer crabs, prawns, western rock lobster and fish use seagrass as a nursery to protect themselves from predators, they also use seagrass leaves are also an attachment for their larvae and eggs.

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