The World Of The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is under threat due to many human impacts and natural impacts. These impacts lead to other consequences that may harm our society as well. For example, if the Great Barrier Reef was to be damaged by pollution, tourism levels would decrease, which can lead to a drop in the economic stance of Australia. For these reasons, it is important to keep our ecosystems safe and protected. Some of the human impacts towards the Great Barrier Reef include:

Oceans are important when it comes to slowing down climate change, they absorbs heat and greenhouse gases but it becomes more acidic dues to carbon dioxide (Dorey, 2015). By 2045, the pH level of seawater is expected to reach 7.8, which is slightly more acidic than normal and many sea creatures will not survive in this condition (Dorey, 2015). The acidification makes it difficult for sea creatures with external shells or skeletons to develop their structures, creatures such as corals, planktons, and crabs may even start to dissolve when the pH levels are too high (Dorey, 2015). This poses a major threat to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, affecting the food chain from plankton to the fish at the top, and ultimately damaging the ecosystem. Coral reefs are sensitive even to the slightest changes in ocean temperatures, along with the ocean’s acidity, the coral reefs are unable to grow properly nor survive storms, resulting in the mortality of certain areas of the Great Barrier Reef (Dorey, 2015). It is expected that 95% of the existing coral reefs may be lost by 2050, and creatures that rely on the reefs for shelter will suffer (Dorey, 2015). Australia’s loss in its ocean resources and Great Barrier Reef will impact the ecosystems, affecting all life as climate change occurs too

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.

Since the beginning of time man has shown a desire to alter his physical surroundings based on his perception of inequalities, injustices, survival or even due to his own innovations. Perhaps it stems from the primal instinct to survive and along with that a common theme behind this desire seems to be an effort to make the world a better place, either more aesthetically pleasing, or easier to survive in. Technological advances for human survival and comfort may come at the expense of animals, climate, air, land and sea. Human ignorance often leads to the natural wonders of our world being destroyed due to these technological advances and human arrogance. Humans have wiped out many species that they come in contact with and almost destroyed other natural environments and ecosystems. Along the northeast coast of Australia is a cluster of reefs known as the Great Barrier Reef, the most diverse underwater phenomenon in our world. This natural wonder is not being cared for and everyone needs to take responsibility for what is happening to this reef, especially in adjacent locations and help in as many ways as possible. The Australian Government is responsible for the protection of the natural resources within their country. They need to act as the main spokesperson for the Great Barrier Reef. The government needs to be more proactive because if nothing is done the Great Barrier Reef will no longer exist. Even though it is not just the Australian Government that is to blame for

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

The great barrier reef. An Australian icon. It makes an income of around 5-6 billion dollars per year. It is so big it covers over 2600 km and 900 islands. That is nearly the same area as Italy.

The reef’s fish are slowly but surely declining due to overfishing, and the Australian Parliament passed a law that prohibits fishing in ⅓ of the reef, but it is still an issue (Kummer 76). The fish and other animals are being threatened by coastal runoff of wastes toxic to them, coral bleaching, and the invasions of crown-of-thorns starfish. The coral bleaching is caused by wastes in the water and the sun. This is slowly making the coral decline, and the GBRMPA is trying everything they can to prevent this (75). As for the crown-of-thorns starfish, outbreaks of them occur about every 17 years, and half of the coral decline is because of them (“About”). During the 1960s, plans were made for mining and drilling on the reef. These plans were never followed through with, but it is unclear whether it will happen in the future or not. This could damage the reef, and the GBRMPA is still trying to shut the plan down today (Kummer 55). Lastly, the Great Barrier Reef lies in a tropical zone threatened by typhoons frequently. These typhoons really damage the coral and the animals that live on the reef. The future of the Great Barrier Reef is unclear, but the GBRMPA is still managing it with great care today (Hoffman

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 one of the seven wonders of the world. It extends more than 1,300 miles through the coral sea off northeastern Australia and it is even visible from outer space. It is also home to more than 400 types of coral and 1,500 species such as the tropical fish, birds, dolphins, and reptiles. The reef is not only home to the coral but it is also breeding ground for humpback whales and a habitat for endangered species. The Great Barrier Reef was listed as a protected site by the World Heritage Trust in 1981 to help maintain it’s beauty allowing for tourists to keep wanting to visit, which greatly affects the economy in Australia and more specifically to keep the marine life alive. However, the reef is undergoing huge

Numerous diseases affect the world’s coral reefs, however the most prevalent at the current time is coral bleaching. With rising sea surface temperatures, the threat of disease has increased as well; organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are already monitoring conditions affecting these issues throughout the world’s oceans. Understanding how many reefs are currently affected as well as which areas are experiencing the highest severity of damage is highly important. The aim was to determine whether or not there was clustering of severe bleaching within a specified area. For this project, data was collected from numerous sources in order to cohesively study the severity of bleaching along the Great Barrier

According to “Great Barrier Reef Is Imperiled, Much of It Dying or Dead”, published March, 16, 2017, Australia’s coral reefs were believed to be under tremendous danger; however, scientific evidence has now solidified that prediction. Over three-fourths of the reefs off the coast are dead despite the slim chance of recovery. This event has impacted not only the ecosystem, but society and researchers as well.

Apart from the threat of the mining industry the Great Barrier Reef is also threatened by the increasing water pollution through plantations and farms in Queensland due to a great use of fertilizers. The waste water that incur on these plantations are often flushed into the sea or get disposed there and therefore these waste waters have a direct impact on the Great Barrier Reef. Besides many toxins that are harmful for the inhabitants of the reefs and the corals the nutrients of the fertilizers enhance the growth of plankton and various species of algae which in turn increase the propagation of the crown-of-thorns starfish, which cause enormous damage in the reefs.1

The reef is dying and there are ways to prevent that from happening. If all countries lower their pollution rate by just a little then it will do wonders in the process of saving the Great Barrier Reef. In order to clarify, “Professor Marshall knows that measuring the health of the coral is not going to immediately stop its bleaching. The facts indicate that to have a real chance of saving the world's reefs, countries around the world must decide to do something about humankind's acceleration of global warming” (Cox 7). If all we do about the Great Barrier Reef problem is try and fix the mistakes that have already been made then it will be very hard for the reef to flourish once again. What needs to be done is fix the mistakes that haven’t been made yet. It’s not too late to recycle more or pollute less. There is a way we can reverse the coral bleaching process. After all, “Gates believes corals can make a comeback. She has discovered that some corals seem to withstand bleaching events better than others. Gates and her team are working on breeding these hardier corals, which could be implanted into dying reefs in the future. They're also introducing corals to warmer temperatures in their lab to see if they can adapt” (Barth,18). If they are able to successfully implant these hardier corals throughout the dying reef then that could be able to get most of the reef back to where it once was. If the corals are able to adapt to warmer temperatures then they will be able to withstand global warming. Once we are able to make corals adapt and reverse the bleaching process then

Australia has set aside about one-third of the reef complex as a marine protected area in which all extractive activities are banned. Overfishing and other destructive practices have been halted, but other problems still threaten the reef. Warm water has been causing bleaching (For reasons we don’t fully understand, when they’re stressed by warm water or other factors, the corals expel their algae symbionts. If the bleaching is too severe, the corals die). In recent years, bleaching incidents have become increasingly widespread and severe. In 2002, between 65 and 90 percent of the corals within the 284,000 km2 of the Great Barrier Reef showed signs of bleaching. Global warming can only make this situation worse. Another serious concern is that the increased CO2 concentrations are making ocean water more acidic, which interferes with the coral’s ability to create the calcium carbonate exoskeletons that create the reef. Some marine biologists warn that if current trends continue, all the coral could be dead within the next 50 years.

Known as ‘the largest living organism’, the Great Barrier Reef is an aspect of the world that has constantly left people in wonder. Being the biggest reef in the world, however, has not prevented a coral cover reduction of 80 percent (Bridge, Beaman, Done, & Webster, 2012). This ecosystem has been constantly overlooked and is now facing changes that are leading to the destruction of this unique environment. The Great Barrier Reef faces the challenges of climate change, invasive species, and human influence on a daily basis which has led to considerable damage to the world’s largest coral reef.