Why Mass Coral Bleaching

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef zone in Australia and it is now being suffered by the coral bleaching. The coral reefs usually have colorful outfits and it provides a great habitat to many of ocean creatures. Nonetheless the many coral reefs in Great Barrier Reef are deforming to be white colored. There are microscopic plant cells in symbiosis with coral reefs, which requires the sun’s energy. However, since the temperature went up, the balance of symbiosis goes out, so the coral reefs releases the plant cells to the water and it makes its white color. The video states that anything that helps the climate change will also helps the coral bleaching. The coral reef zones like Great Barrier Reef are deeply related to the ocean ecosystem, so the if the destruction goes on and on, in close future our eyes might not able to see that magnificently beautiful corals anymore and many of ocean creatures. The destruction of one ecosystem doesn’t only hazardous to those creatures in that ecosystem, but it gives dangers to all ecosystem and could lead to another destruction of other

Background: I attended the “Global warming and the mass bleaching of corals” speech on the 31st March. The lecture presented the current situation coral of the Great Barrier Reef, the influences of global warming on recurrent coral bleaching and some solutions of preventing the present alarming rates of coral ‘die off’ associated with severe and recurrent coral bleaching.

When people think of bleaching they might think about bleaching their hair which is damaging if repeated often or perhaps accidentally spilling bleach on a shirt and ruining it. But there is another type of bleaching that a lot of people don’t know about, and that’s coral bleaching. It affects a large majority of the Great Barrier Reef which is a primitive host of living things. The Great Barrier Reef is desperate for attention and it’s up to us to try and save it and prevent more damage from being done.

Consequently, Climate change has a major impact on The Great Barrier Reef such as; increasing sea temperatures, warmer waters that are causing corals to become bleached and stressed. Sea levels rising, extreme weather conditions (like storms and cyclone that-re breaking up the coral reefs). Furthermore, increasing flooding therefore polluting the reef, and fishes moving to cooler waters and leaving bird

For a reef to develop successfully, it needs to grow in water that is greater than 18°C and less than 29°C and live in shallow clear water to allow for maximal light penetration, key for photosynthesis. However if the temperatures exceed more than 29 degrees for several hours upon end, coral bleaching is apparent. When corals begin to bleach they expel Zooxanthellae algae (which lives within the coral tissue), the coral transforms a pale white and in turn means it is extremely vulnerable and subject to increased fatalities. Furthermore, the presence of Tropical Cyclones can cause heavy physical damage to the reef, by breaking down coral colonies and displacing them from the reef structure.

Coral bleaching is the process of ejecting most or all of endosymbiotic zooxanthellae in a stress response to fluctuations in corals external environment (4 360 link). In extreme case which are happening at a more regular occurrence, the bleaching response is disastrous for the coral host as well as the entire reefscapes for the Great Barrier Reef (4 360 link).

Coral bleaching isn’t as extreme as it sounds, it’s just a way for coral to adapt to changes in their environment but it’s still a bad thing to happen. Warmer temperatures and also ocean acidification are the culprits of coral bleaching, making the coral expel algae from their tissues and causing the coral to be white. For example, the 1998 El Nino/ mass coral bleaching event, the article Not just a pretty face (2) proposes that “although it was triggered by a natural event”, it demonstrated how the ocean can adapt under stress but it also “symbolizes the ultimate consequence of our thirst for fossil fuels”. It’s normal for climate change to cause such an effect on the reefs, humans are to blame for the more rapid climate change though. Believe

In addition, the research article illustrates how bleaching of the coral reefs is a global issue with findings that imply that all regions in which coral reefs are located are equally affected with the decline of the coral reef in one given area. Likewise, findings in the research article show that coral reef decline is not limited to regional stressors, but also human impacts such as sedimentation as a result of urban development. The main issue discussed in the article is emphasized in the research article, suggesting the urgent need to implement policies to conserve coral reefs. Both articles touch upon the fact that coral reefs can grow back, however in the research articles one finding implies how coral reefs take a noteworthy amount of time to grow and gain its normal composition. Ultimately, the research article does not contradict the news article, but instead compliments the news article and reaffirms the growing issue of coral reef decline as a result of climate events and human

However coral reefs are in endangered by several threats. One of the biggest has been coral bleaching. The corals are becoming stress and turning this pale white color (known as bleaching) due to the temperatures of the water increasing. (C. Mark 2010). It has been studied that the bleaching is caused by the corals expelling the

Currently due to CO2 emissions changing the waters pH and climate, change warming up the water coral bleaching is occurring. This is when zooxanthellae are release from the symbiotic relationship with coral leading to the death of the coral.

Coral Reef Bleaching is when water is too warm, coral will expel the algae living in their tissue causing the coral to turn completely white. Some things that causes coral reef bleaching is Solar Irradiance, Subaerial Exposure, Freshwater Dilution, Xenobiotics . Solar Irradiance Mostly happens in the summer months. Solar radiation has a role in bleaching. Subaerial Exposure happens when extreme low tides can potentially induce bleaching. Freshwater Dilution causes coral bleaching when a storm-generated precipitation and runoff. Xenobiotics is zooxanthellae loss occurs during exposure of coral to elevated concentration of various chemicals contaminants. Zooxanthellae is a yellowish-brown symbiotic dinoflagellate present in large numbers in the cytoplasm of many marine invertebrates.

Coral reefs are living structures comprised of the exoskeletons of a marine organism known as polyps. Polyps are animals that have a symbiotic relationship with algae that lives inside the polyps and provides the coral with energy through photosynthesis, which is the process of turning light into energy, and the coral provides a safe place for the algae to reside in. Bleaching in corals occurs when environmental stressors cause the coral to eject the algae from itself, causing the coral to lose its pigment and its main way of producing energy (Kenneth et al. 540). It is estimated that 30% of coral reefs around the world have been damaged or destroyed by bleaching, and about 60% of the world’s coral reefs are at risk from bleaching (Lönnstedt et al 1178-1185).

chances of diseases and an increase in death rates. Many risk endangerment because of coral reef

Human activity such as overfishing, oil disposal, sewage, and chemical pollution attribute only a portion of the disruption of diverse coral reef ecosystems. Sedimentation present problem because it buries the coral reefs underneath rocky layers and thereby hinders their growth.

In some areas where there is sand and mud along the coast, the erosion can effectively worsen quicker than other places. Although it is a land change, there is no impact to human life. In areas where humans have interfered with the shoreline, more extensive precautions were taken. In some areas, concrete walls are built to stop the erosion in the area. Cairns is an area that has been effected by the human interruption severely. Where there used to be a shore full of mangroves, there is now a shore with concrete walls built in an attempt to stop the erosion. It has been said that some houses and roads have been built too close to the shoreline and that these will be reclaimed by the sea in times to come. “Roads and houses have been built on parts of the coast which will periodically be reclaimed by the sea.” (Short, 2008) This is an unfortunate consequence of the issues that people have forced upon the beaches. This is also happening in closer areas such as on the beach at Burrum Heads. Walls have been created and have been proven to be very affective in stopping the erosion. Although, if the erosion in some areas that can’t be controlled, the erosion is becoming deadly for the reefs. Coral reefs become inundated by sand and mud that has been collected and washed out to sea, this affects the coral as it makes the water thicker and murky, therefore making the water quality degrade for the reefs. The effects