The Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico

Of the coral communities studied, at least half of the reefs were dead. This presents a huge problem for the entire ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico as coral reefs are the base of said ecosystem. Reefs provide organic matter and shelter for several benthic organisms (sponges, worms, clams, crabs, lobsters, etc.). The destruction of shelter poses threats to all of the organisms who live on coral reefs.

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 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.

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

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,

The Florida Reef provides many benefits to our world. The coral living in it are part of the phylum Cnidaria which a group of invertebrates. Though it may provide many benefits to us, we provide many dangers to it. Our debris and overfishing can damage the Florida reef along with many other coral reefs. Not only that, due to over excessive tourists and their recklessness, we are endangering the Florida Reef even more. So how can human action improve the ocean ecosystem that is the home to the many species of the Florida reef? One is by polluting less. We can also fish more carefully and help reduce runoff. We can help the Florida Reef and it can continue to benefit us.

I have been interested in marine sciences since I was a child. I grew up in and around the water. Being a resident of South Florida, and an avid boater, I have seen the degradation of the Florida reef system. I was fortunate enough that my parents were able to purchase a house in Key Largo when I was just 6 years old. I quickly got familiar with the surrounding ocean. My favorite place to go diving was a protected reef about 3 miles offshore called Molasses Reef. Since there is no fishing, lobstering, or even anchoring on this reef, the protected area has not changed much since I was a kid. Yet, one can start seeing changing not too far away for this tropical reef oasis. This part of the reef is unprotected and has changed drastically over

Not many places can preserve the coral so well because, of the constant changes being done to the beaches to comfort the many tourists that come to look at the shores and also from overfishing. Coral in general is just really sensitive and so the coral is now being preserved to help regain the balance needed for the safety and the population of the fish

With The Gulf of Mexico being the ninth largest body of water in the world, it is obvious that there may be a few environmental problems. The estuaries of The Gulf of Mexico are being destroyed and there is no one to point fingers at except ourselves. Estuaries provide humans with many uses and benefits such as a water supply, trading ports, agricultural support, sport and commercial fisheries, and even recreational uses for swimming or jet skiing. People from all over the world come to our city of Pensacola just to enjoy our beautiful gulf that we take for granted and treat horribly. Tourism in the gulf generates around $20 billion per year, while the waters yield about 1.51 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 1996. In 1996, the Gulf of Mexico also contributed 57% of the entire oyster production in the United States.

I am writing about the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The natural marine sanctuary has been In Florida. There are much fish In the sanctuary, but there is only one kind of species that Is really important to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The thing that is really popular or important is the coral polyps. Now the coral polyps is a flower. It has tiny, soft sea anemone. Just like animals that make a cup of calcium carbonate around themselves for their own protection. Thousands and thousands of these tiny polyps build all their skeletons together to form a colony. They keep building the skeletons on top of each other and sometimes It grows up to hundreds of meters tall. Did you know there are four main types of coral habitat in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary? The coral polyps are the

In the United States, Florida is the only state that has coral reefs that form near the coast. It runs along the east coast from Stuart, located in Martin County, to the Dry Tortugas which are located in the Gulf of Mexico. Along the chain of the Florida Keys is where most of the living coral reefs are also located in the Everglades. “ Coral reef development occurs only in areas with specific environmental characteristics: a solid structure for attachment, relatively warm water temperatures, clear waters low in phosphate and moderate wave action to disperse wastes and bring oxygen and brings oxygen and plankton to the reef.” (www.dep.state.fl.us)

The timeline of the coral reef abundant park formation starts as early as the Mesozoic Era. Following the break-up of Pangea, continental rifting of South American and Africa from North America began to take place. Due to this separation, the Atlantic Ocean basin was formed, primarily due to extrusion of volcanic rocks accompanied by the mantle plume upwelling due to crustal tension (Heatherington and Mueller, 1991). Towards the middle of the Mesozoic Era, while the Atlantic Ocean was still forming, shallow marine sediments were being deposited as they were transported from land areas to the ocean by the wind, ice, and or rivers. As marine transgression, the sea level rising due to the ocean basins filling with water continued on into the late Mesozoic Era, global warming established a marine accumulation of carbonates over the entire Florida Peninsula (Thornberry,

Many prominent marine biologist and conservationist such as Guy Harvey have lectured my school on many of the problems that are causing problems to coral reefs in the Caribbean. With the accompaniment of my marine biology teacher in high school, I traveled in a submarine observing the flora and fauna on the ocean floor. As we glided through the ocean our teacher informed us on the Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes that found their home in the rocks and coral reefs. We also traveled near the port where the cruise ships dock, and noticed that the ocean floor was baron due to the weakening of the coral reefs caused by anchoring that get swept away when hurricanes churn the water. Not only anchoring can demolish the coral, but the influx of the temperature can as well. If a large amount of boats are patrolling an area the oil and gas from the engine can pollute the water or raise the temperature. Sometimes it only takes and influx of one degree Fahrenheit for the zooxanthellae, a form of algae that is responsible for photosynthesis, can die and cause coral bleaching. Even just by touching the coral repetitively you can break apart the delicate coral. I find it compelling that this issue be addressed because I am an avid fisherman. I enjoy the relaxation and thrill of deep sea fishing, and

There are patch reefs up and down from the Keys through Palm Beach County, where I live. But North America’s only living corral barrier reef lies six miles seaward of the Florida Keys (Reef Relief). These coral reefs are composed of outer reefs and patch reefs, and contain over fifty species of corals (making up eighty percent of all the coral reef species in the Tropical Western Atlantic) and more than one hundred species of fish. These reef systems are important to Floridians first and foremost because of tourism. People travel from all over the world to come to Florida and snorkel, scuba dive, and boat over the beautiful reef systems. In addition to this, Florida’s commercial fishing for lobster, stone crab, and many other fish depends on