The Importance Of The Great Barrier Reef In Australia

Coral bleaching is not just a national problem that Australia faces alone. In the last year (2015), 12 percent of the world’s coral reefs have bleached (Howard). Since the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef, covering 133,000 square miles, and stretching 1,200 miles along the coast of Australia, it poses an incredible threat to Australia’s economy and environment (Howard). Coral bleaching is not an issue that is often plastered all over the news or brought to people’s attention often. Coral Reefs, especially the Great Barrier Reef are seen as the perfect tourist destination because reefs are known for their wide variety of marine life and beautiful bright corals one would see on brochures. However, when a coral is bleached, it loses

Not only is Australia home to the Great Barrier Reef, but it is also the only continent in the world that is its own country. The Great Barrier Reef is the world 's largest coral reef system that stretches 1,250 miles off the Northeast coast of Australia. The coral reef support much of the marine life such as fish, sea turtles, and other marine mammals. In 1981, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, became in charge of the environmental protection of the Great Barrier Reef. Research found that because of the acidity in the ocean, the coral reef is at its slowest growing rate in at least 400 years. In 2014, the Great Barrier Reef was added to the UNESCO 's Endangered Sites list. Along the coast of Queensland, where the coral reef is, there are many ports located there and oil sludge is constantly being dumped into the ocean. The Great Barrier Reef is in dire need of being restored and protected.

Primary consumers are normally herbivores therefore they feed off of producers. There is a wide variety of herbivorous animals that reside in the Great Barrier Reef. These include invertebrates such as molluscs and echinoderms, as well as certain species of fish, the most notable being the parrotfishes, surgeonfishes, rabbitfishes, rudderfishes and damselfishes. The primary consumer’s role in the Great Barrier Reef’s food chain consists of them feeding off of the primary producers such as coral, therefore transferring the energy from the producer to consumer. The primary consumer only obtains around 10% of the producer’s energy as they may not eat the whole entity or energy might be lost through waste. The population of the largest and most significant vertebrate plants feeds, including sea turtles, dugongs, have been severely decimated by the impacts of humans on the reef. The loss of these vital animals has and will more severely disturb the coral reef food web in a significant manner, although the specific impacts are not clear

When the water of the sea becomes warmer due to higher temperatures which diminishes the oxygen content, the coral expels the algae that exists within their tissues causing it to turn completely white. This results in coral bleaching. Thus, the elevating heat stress which results from high sea temperatures serves as the main factor that induced damage to the coral reefs. If the heat prevails, the reef may even die instead of recovering. Coral reefs provide home to a significant number of sea species and coral bleaching causes their habitats to destroy completely and effect the marine life adversely. Thus it is much better to prevent coral bleaching than to accomplish its recovery which may take many

Coral Bleaching is caused when elevated seawater temperatures result in extensive coral loss. When the water becomes too warm coral will expel the algae living in their tissue, causing the coral to turn completely white. Pollution from urban or agricultural run-offs, sedimentation from undersea activity like dredging, and changes in the salinity are other contributors to coral bleaching. Although coral can survive the bleaching they are under more stress and are subject to mortality. This issue is not a new problem; coral bleaching has had a substantial effect on coral for many years. “In 2005, the U.S lost half of its coral reefs in the Caribbean in one year due to a massive bleaching event”(National Ocean Service). Another article states that in January 2010, cold-water temperatures in the Florida Keys caused a coral bleaching event that resulted in some coral death. Researchers have evaluated the cold-stress of the water will make coral more susceptible to disease, in the same way warmer water impact coral. Luckily there are things that we can do to help stop this

It would effect everything on the planet, plants would be less able to produce the suns energy and living organisms would be in big trouble. A short term effect would be decreasing plant populations and a long term effect would be a decreasing population of every organism on the planet.

As predators in their ecosystem, Great White sharks help maintain the coral reefs and seagrass habitats. Recently, because of the downturn of sharks, those coral reefs and seagrass

The Great Barrier Reef is actually the largest living thing on Earth. In fact, it can even be seen from space. The only problem with reefs is that they can only survive under a certain temperature range. If the temperature is too low or too high for the reefs, this causes the algae, which gives the coral their beautiful and bright colors, to leave the coral, and therefore causing the coral to become bleached (National Ocean Service). This is exactly what has happened this year. Data has recently been released that El Niño has caused complete bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef (The New York Times). Let that sink in, the World’s largest living thing, that has been around for about 500,000 years, is dying this year. People need to realize that

The FKNMS is located off the tip of Florida containing over 1700 islands. These chains of islands are coral reefs that are just south from the Key Biscayne and extend southwest for approximately 126miles. These islands end about 90 miles north of Cuba. These islands are not suitable for people to live on because of there size. The FKNMS covers over 2800 square nautical miles. The FKNMS was established due to the demise of the coral reefs in the Keys. Low water quality, decline in coral reef habitats, and oil drilling eventually lead President George H. Bush to establish the FKNMS on November 16, 1990. FKNMS also contains the Key Largo and Looe Key sanctuaries, which were facing the same environmental challenges.

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and complex habitats. They are one of the most interesting and colorful ecosystems found in the marine environment. They are very unique in many different ways and a crucial support for human life. They play also a very important role in the marine life such as giving shelter and food for millions of species including fishes, crabs, or shrimps. They support 33% of marine fish species. They also have specific and certain conditions to be formed, and to survive. They are also known as the “rainforest of the oceans” because of its huge diversity. In this research paper we will explore more about coral reefs and their importance.

Overlooked and often forgotten, wilderness is surrounding the envionments humans live in. Wilderness does not have to be a untarnished and completely protected. Just as families have a place to call home, wilderness provides a home and a place of refuge for animals and plants and other non human living organizims. They make up the balance needed to sustance the wilderness. How humans and wilderness intact is what will cause florecment or produce neglect. Neglect will lead to long term negative consequences that would impact both humans and the wilderness. On the surface in most wilderness areas in may seem that life in the wilderness in well and with continues protection will go on. Although, an area of wilderness has been forgotten and is being abused. Thoughforgotten that wilderness needs a home just has much has humans.

It is miles long and has an abundance of individual reefs along the coastal lines. The Great Barrie Reef is located in the Coral Sea in the Northern tip of Australia. This region is full of corals and zooxanthellae making it an optimal place for experimentation.

Environmental impacts for example, Climate change, especially the rising ocean temperatures and Ocean Acidification is as of now influencing the Great Barrier Reefs Ecosystem. Coral bleaching coming about because of expanding ocean temperature and lower rates of calcification in skeleton-building life forms, for example, corals, because of sea acidification, are the impacts of most concern and are as of now obvious. Agricultural sources are adding to the waterfront and inshore territories of the Great Barrier Reef by expanded Nutrients, Sediments and different Pollutants in the catchment runoff. With the coastal population continuing to grow the coastal development grows which contributes to the modification

In order for a coral reef to be productive and healthy, the water quality in the ocean should be maintained. Water quality not only affects coral reefs, but the other organisms that live on it and are involved with the natural food chain. Some of the factors that can influence water quality are nutrients, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, light, and chlorophyll present. Water is essential to every living organism because it helps with respiration, maintaining body temperature, digestion and provides energy. This experiment involved taking water samples from Ferry Reach off the BIOS dock and analyzing different factors to determine general conclusions about how water quality affects reef ecosystems.

Therefore, the impact of overfishing and illegal collecting of coral may destroyed the social and economic well-being of the coastal communities who depend on fish for their way of life. Beside, it is also direct overexploitation of fish, intertebrates, and algae for food and the aquarium trade, removal of a species or group of species impacting multiple trophic levels, bycatch and mortality of nontarget species, and change from coral to algal dominance due to reduction in herbivores (Reef Resilience Organisation,