Preview

What Is Coral Bleaching

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
298 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is Coral Bleaching
The Great Barrier Reef, located off the coast of Queensland, Australia, is the “world’s largest coral reef ecosystem”, according to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). It is home to about 2,900 individual coral reefs, but unfortunately, as of 1990 and continuing until today, this number is rapidly declining. This active downturn is primarily due to the catastrophic coral bleaching event being held in their ecosystem. Coral reefs have an optimal water temperature of (20-27 celsius) where they can successfully reproduce and live comfortably. Coral reef bleaching is caused by a change in their regular habitat, specifically, a rise in temperature. If there is any elevation in the temperature, the corals will undergo stress. The

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The atmospheric processes encountered within the Great Barrier Reef are ultimately responsible for shaping the reef ecosystem. The reef, which lies within Australia’s cyclone zone, is subject to the impacts of cyclones throughout the Australian tropical cyclone season, which extends from the months of November to April. The intensity and duration of these intense low-pressure systems ultimately determines the level of damage inflicted upon the coral. These cyclones are not only associated with strong winds that generate large storm waves that rip apart the softer corals and chip the hard corals, but also bring with them large volumes of rain, which alter the salinity and turbidity levels within the waters. This ecosystem experiences relatively warm temperatures, which range from an average maximum of 30˚C in January and 23˚C in July, and an average minimum of 24˚C in January and 18˚C in July, and an increase of even just a few degrees Celsius can have detrimental impacts on this environment. It is understood that Tropical Cyclone Larry, which crossed the reef on March 2006, surprisingly benefited the reef ecosystem as it led to a reduction in water temperature, which in turn prevented a coral bleaching event that was predicted due to a rise in sea surface temperatures. Hence, the climate and weather systems present…

    • 948 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the global climate changing so are the coral like many other things and sadly they are dying off because of the temperature changing. Which is causing coral reef bleaching which is when the whitening of diverse invertebrate taxa it is caused by when zooxanthellae decline and or the concentration of photosynthetic pigments within the zooxanthellae…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Review Questions Chapter 6

    • 1167 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. Coral reefs are elaborate networks of crevices, ledges, and holes made up of calcium carbonate; coral polyps are tiny animals that build coral reefs by secreting a crust of limestone around their bodies that accumulate once multiple polyps die. Coral reefs help moderate atmospheric temperatures by removing CO2 from the atmosphere, act as natural barriers that help protect 15% of the world’s coastlines from erosion by battering waves and storms, provide habitats for a variety of marine organisms, produce about one-tenth of the global fish catch, one-fourth of the catch in developing countries, provide jobs and building materials for some of the world’s poorest countries, and support fishing and tourism industries worth billions of dollars each year. Coral bleaching is when a coral becomes stressed and the algae on which it depends for food and color die out, leaving an underlying white or bleached skeleton of calcium carbonate; this occurs because of increased water temperatures and runoff of silt from the land.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This sea is predicted as how the oceans of the planet will look like within the next century. The acidification that might happen throughout the oceans of the world is mostly caused by the carbon dioxide emitted from smokestacks and tailpipes. (527) Thirty percent of the carbon dioxide released by man has been soaked in the oceans. Many marine organisms cannot survive in these high carbon dioxide concentrated conditions. The evidence from Castello Aragonese proves that this polluted sea is missing thirty-three percent of marine organisms that live outside the vent system. Another significant organism of the chemistry of the ocean is the coral reef. Coral reefs are essential for the ecosystem of the ocean. Ocean acidification is a threat to their existence. According to Jane Lubchenco, ocean acidification is global warming’s “equally evil twin.” (qtd. in…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This is currently the largest and most biodiverse ecosystem in the world, spanning across 348 000 square kilometres of Australia’s Northeast coast. Starting from the top of Cape York (10 degrees 41’ S, 145 degrees E) 2300km down to just north of Bundaberg. Billions of coral polyps form the basis of this intricate biodiverse marine ecosystem, relying heavily on complex biophysical interactions resulting in its vulnerability. There a number of factors leading up to stresses placed upon this ecosystem in particular, human induced…

    • 1912 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    work cited

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Warmer ocean temperatures are also now understood to cause coral bleaching. Rising levels of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas emissions) are also decreasing the pH level of the ocean, known as ocean acidification. Evidence suggests that this will have a profound effect on the entire marine ecosystem.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Living into older ages is changing from an exceptional to an expected part of the life course experience worldwide. Improvement in health and longevity across the lifespan also brings challenges for social work practice. At the same time, these changes are part of population aging trends consist between universal or inevitable. In addition, population aging discourse often reduces the complex dynamics of population aging to a problematic rise in older adults characterized as inactive and dependent. Social workers can challenge the ageist construction of older adults by using clients’ contextualized knowledge of how people age in their social environments.…

    • 366 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coral Reef Research Paper

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The food web is one of the quality things about a coral reef; without the shark, its food web would be off balance. Even though coral reefs are located in different areas within the ocean and they are different shapes and sizes, the food web remains the same. Among the different types of coral reefs, fringing reefs or shore reefs are the most common. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s secret treasures; without it the world wouldn’t have the underwater beauty that it holds. Unfortunately, climate change could affect the loss of coral reefs and the ocean wouldn’t be what it is today. Not only can climate change affect the life of a coral reef, but a human’s touch can damage it too. Just think of a coral reef as a house to humans; the humans would want to maintain the reef just like they maintain their houses. With that being said, protect the coral…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Coral reef systems cover approximately 284,300 sq. km and just under 0.1% of the ocean’s surface area yet they provide habitats for approximately 25% of all marine species (UNEP, 2001). Whilst the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, it is followed by other large coral reef systems including the ‘Mesoamerican barrier reef’ which stretches 1000km from the Yutacan Peninsula in south-east Mexico to the Bay Islands of the Honduras as well as the ‘New-Caledonia Barrier Reef’ which is the second largest duble barrier reef in the world (UNEP, 2001). Other large coral reef systems are also found the Bahamas, Philippines, United States as well various islands around the world. Whilst corals are found extensively across the coastlines of many countries they can also exist in deep water however very little is known about them.…

    • 1911 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coral reefs are home to many fishes and plants. Because of global warming, 16% of the world’s coral reefs were wiped out in one year alone (“Global Warming and Coral Reefs”). Ocean temperatures have also risen by 1.3 ° Fahrenheit since the last 19th century (Coral bleaching and ocean acidification are two climate-related impacts to coral reefs). The increasing carbon dioxide levels lead to coral bleaching. This occurs when coral responds to the stress of the temperature warming. This expels the colorful algae that live within most of the coral dies, so the entire ecosystem disappears. Warmer waters are expected to increase the chance of coral diseases such as black band disease, white plague, and white pox. All of the diseases lead to the killing of coral reefs and the entire ecosystem is supports.…

    • 1989 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coral reefs have been dubbed the “rainforests of the oceans”, because of the rich diversity of life they support, as more than one quarter of all marine animals depend upon coral reefs. Coral reefs are also a source of food and income for millions of people. The coral reef ecosystems benefit humans commercially, recreationally and environmentally. Without them many tourism based industries would collapse, treatments or cures for some illnesses would disappear, and the countless organisms they support would be left without food or shelter. For these reasons and numerous others, it is vital that we protect coral reefs.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coral Reef Essay

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Coral reefs are one of the most interesting things on earth. It is a shame that people know so little about them and that they aren’t taken care of near as well as they should be. They are fascinating to learn about if you put time and effort to learn about them and what they are. Also, what they all do for our environment. Our solution for taking care of our reefs are to educate yourself about coral reefs, volunteer for reef clean-ups, do not anchor down on the reefs, and reduce, reuse, and…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me…Be my advocate, be my friend, and we’ll see just how far we can go” –Ellen Botbohm, author of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Predator-Prey Interaction

    • 3361 Words
    • 14 Pages

    “Predator Starfish Wiping Out The Great Barrier Reefs Dramatically.” Green Diary April 2007. Accessed 26 July 2009. http://www.greendiary.com/entry/predator-starfish-wiping-out-the-great-barrier-reefs-corals-dramtically/…

    • 3361 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Coral Reef Research Paper

    • 1846 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hodgson, G. 1999. A global assessment of human effects on coral reefs. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 38(5): 345-55.…

    • 1846 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays