Coral Reefs - BIO 155 PDF

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Michael Arnold BIO 155 Importance of Coral Reefs Coral reefs are a very complex and interesting ecosystem. The ecosystem is home to many organisms that are extremely diverse. Although there is a wide variety of organisms, they can coexist through symbiotic relationships to help each other survive. The diversity from the coral reefs contributes to coral reefs being a very nutrient-rich ecosystem. One nutrient provided by the coral reef is calcium carbonate (CaCO 3). This is a nutrient that is useful to local coastal communities because of its medicinal purposes for heartburn and indigestion (Lantz). Coral reefs are also very useful for providing protection to coastal regions by helping provide a buffer for storms and waves (Gonson). However, coral reefs are in danger than could permanently damage them and put entire ecosystems at risk. Because of global warming, there is an increased amount of rainfall that occurs. More glacial ice melts as temperatures increase which adds more water that can be included in the water cycle which results in rainfall (Clark). With more rainfall, there is more acidic runoff that is accumulated from the ground. This runoff makes its way into a body of water, like an ocean. Once in the ocean, this runoff can make its way to ecosystems like coral reefs. The toxicity of the runoff breaks down the coral reef by chemical means and the coral erodes. Ocean acidification also leads to coral reefs being in danger. Ocean acidification is the process by which the pH of the ocean (or a localized region of the ocean) is lowered making the water more acidic. This happens when more carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean. The carbon dioxide undergoes several chemical processes that result in more acidic waters. This change in pH inhibits the ability of coral reefs to absorb the CaCO 3 amounts that are needed

(Fabricius). This leads to a lowered rate of skeletal growth by the coral. This means that the coral cannot grow to its full potential or be as strong as it needs to be, resulting in a less effective ecosystem. Both ocean acidification and increased rainfall can be attributed to rising ocean temperatures. The increase in temperature is primarily caused by human activity. As human activity like driving cars, deforestation, and burning fossil fuels continues, more greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, methane, and various nitrogenous gasses are released into the atmosphere (Osborne). These greenhouse gasses help absorb heat and retain this heat in the earth’s atmosphere. So, with more greenhouse gasses, the higher the temperature will be on average. These higher temperatures are causing glacial ice to melt which causes more rainfall resulting in more toxic runoff going into oceans and damaged coral reefs. The increase of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide contributes to ocean acidification which results in weakened or ineffective coral reefs. Human activity is a primary driver for both ocean acidification and increased toxic runoff. With this in mind, humans can have a major impact in helping save coral reef ecosystems. Many people don’t believe that they can actually have an impact on the issue, but if each person can have a small impact to help cause the issue then each person can have a small impact to help save the coral reefs. There are numerous ways that humans can help save the reefs both directly and indirectly. People can help directly by providing financial aid to help develop sanctuaries for coral reefs, or by volunteering time to help conservation efforts concerned with coral reefs. People can also help indirectly by greatly reducing their carbon footprint.

References:

Clark, T. D., D. G. Roche, S. A. Binning, S.-R. Ben, and J. Sundin. 2017. Maximum thermal limits of coral reef damselfishes are size dependent and resilient to near-future ocean acidification. Journal of Experimental Biology 220:3519-3526. Fabricius, K. E., S. H. C. Noonan, D. Abrego, L. Harrington, and G. De'ath. 2017. Low recruitment due to altered settlement substrata as primary constraint for coral communities under ocean acidification. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 284. Gonson, C., D. Pelletier, F. Alban, C. Giraud-Carrier, and J. Ferraris. 2017. Influence of settings management and protection status on recreational uses and pressures in marine protected areas. Journal of Environmental Management 200:170-185. Lantz, C. A., R. C. Carpenter, and P. J. Edmunds. 2017. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) sediment dissolution under elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrate (NO3-). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 495:48-56. Osborne, K., A. A. Thompson, A. J. Cheal, M. J. Emslie, K. A. Johns, M. J. Jonker, M. Logan, I. R. Miller, and H. P. A. Sweatman. 2017. Delayed coral recovery in a warming ocean. Global Change Biology 23:3869-3881....