...THE CORAL TRIANGLE by A. Wong Coral reefs are among the most productive of all the eco-systems. The intricate homes that coral animals build create magical underwater structures that attract a variety of sea life. Thousands of fish of many different varieties dart in and out of these elegant corals. A tropical coral reef underwater rivals the diversity of a tropical rain-forest on land. These reefs are a tremendous source of natural wonders and resources. The Philippines, Malaysia and New Guinea mark the corners of a triangle which is the cradle of evolution for the coral kingdom. More then 400 species of coral are in the reefs that encircle the 7000 plus islands of the Philippines. Its land area is only 1/5 of its water realm. Not all of these islands are inhabited. Those which can support human population are filled to overflowing. In these small islands there is usually no other way to make a living except through the surrounding reef. For the Philippines, with its problems in population and economy, fishing is very important. However, some fishermen resort to extreme measures such as Dynamite Fishing because it is quick and effective. Dynamite fishing is both illegal and rampant in the Philippines. The devastating effects of a single dynamite blast so a fisherman can feed his family with enough to spare to sell can cause damages to coral reefs that would take them 40 years to recover. The reefs are filled with a variety of sea life - exotic fishes with myriad...
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...July 13th 2014 Instuctor: Nicholas Kusina SCI 201-140-3A-06 Coral Reefs are located in tropical oceans near the equator. The largest coral reef is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia The second largest coral reef can be found off the coast of Belize. In Central America. Other reefs are found in other areas in tropical oceans. Corals can exist as individuals polpys, or in colonies and communities that contain hundreds to hundreds of thousands of polyps. For example, brain corals are some of the most recognizable coral species. These corals are colonies of many individual polyps, the individual polyps average 1-3mm in diameter. The physical structure of a coral reef is built by reef building polyps. When they secrete calcium carbonate skeletons, they create a complex three dimensional framework upon which an abundance of coral species and other marine plants and animals may live. About 25 % of all marine life is found in coral reefs, including around two million species of fish, crustaceans, sponges and seaweeds. Together these plants and animals form the coral reef ecosystem. As well as supporting marine biodiversity, reef ecosystems provide a number of ecological services and goods to human populations on a local, regional, and national level as they play an important role in coastline and habitat protection, nitrogen fixing, sand supply, climate records, fisheries, medicine, recreation and tourism. Coral reef frameworks can serve as physical buffers for ocean waves and...
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...Coral Reefs SCIN 136 Introduction to Oceanography, Week 7 Symbiosis is derived from “sym” which means together, and “biosis” which means to live. Coral is a terrific example of symbiosis, in that it requires another organism (the algae known as zooxanthellae) for survival and growth, and vice versa. I will discuss zooxanthellae, and how the symbiosis between it and coral is more efficient than coral relying solely on phytoplankton for as its main food resource. Almost all reef building coral require a very close symbiotic relationship with a certain type of algae known as “zooxanthellae” in order to thrive. These zooxanthellae inhabit the actual “flesh” of the coral, producing oxygen and also assisting in the waste removal process of the corals growth. In return, the coral protects the algae from the environment, and contributes various compounds required by the algae for photosynthesis. An interesting fact of this relationship is that zooxanthellae provides the coral with foods like glucose, glycerol and amino acids, which are created through photosynthesis. The coral uses these compounds to then produce proteins, fats and calcium carbonate to be used in its own growth process. This symbiotic relationship truly enables the efficient recycling of nutrients in rather nutrient poor tropical waters. Coral reefs react to their environment just like plants do, so they thrive in nutrient poor tropical water mainly because the waters there are relatively clear, and clear...
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...planet, etc. Coral reefs are believed by many to have the highest biodiversity of any ecosystem on the planet—even more than a tropical rainforest. Occupying less than one percent of the ocean floor, coral reefs are home to more than twenty-five percent of marine life. Why is that important? A highly biodiverse ecosystem, one with many different species, is often more resilient to changing conditions and can better withstand significant disturbances. In addition, ecosystem services—benefits that humans receive from natural environments—are often greater in highly diverse places. Coral reefs, thanks to their diversity, provide millions of people with food, medicine, protection from storms, and revenue from fishing and tourism. An estimated six million fishermen in 99 reef countries and territories worldwide—over a quarter of the world’s small-scale fishermen—harvest from coral reefs. The biodiversity of reefs can also be appreciated simply for the wonder and amazement it inspires. Brightly colored, spotted, striped, speckled, or otherwise eccentrically patterned fish swim in and around coral reefs; some specialize in eating different kinds of algae, keeping corals from being smothered by their potentially deadly competitors. Sharks, groupers, and other predatory fish keep populations of smaller fish and other organisms in balance. Parrotfish actually eat the reef itself. They scrape at the coral to get to the small algae (zooxanthellae) living inside the coral polyp, then...
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...Describe the conditions which provide the best environment for the growth of coral and explain how coral may be threatened by changes to those conditions. A coral reef provides one of the most important natural habitats in the world, sheltering enormous amounts of biodiversity with its solid calcium carbonate skeleton. More than 25 percent of all fish biodiversity on the planet Earth is associated with the coral reef ecosystem. Coral reefs require fairly specific environmental conditions in order to thrive. Coral reefs and the zooxanthellae algae living within the cell walls of coral polyps must have adequate sunlight and warm salt water - water that gets no colder than 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).Optimal conditions for coral growth require water temperatures between 73.4 and 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit (23 to 29 degrees Celsius). Coral reefs survive best in the waters between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator, mostly in the Pacific and Indian oceans. They also thrive in clear waters with little or no floating particles that can filter out or block direct sunlight. Shallow-water coral grows approximately 3.9 inches (9.9 centimeters) per year, given these optimal conditions. For example, the coasts alongside Oman are an ideal place for coral growth. While tropical shallow-water coral reefs have been studied much more extensively, there are also species of coral that live in deep-water conditions, from about 50 to 2,000 meters (about 165...
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...The Coral Reefs Ecosystem Hidden beneath the ocean water, is the coral reefs team of life. Fish, corals, lobsters, clams, sponges, seahorses, sea turtles are only a few of hundreds of thousands of creatures that rely on reefs for their survival. I think that coral reefs are beautiful and I find that ecosystem of a reef is fascinating. Despite the fact that Corals look like rock or plants they are definitely marine animals. Corals life begins in tropical water as floating larvae. After a short period of time the larvae attaches itself to a hard surface and becomes a polyp. Corals are related to the jellyfish some people say that a coral looks like a jelly fish upside down due to a coral having a lot of tiny polyps. A single coral polyp may be as large as a saucer or small as the top of a pinhead. There are billions of polyps working together in a cooperative colony. Generation after generation creating a limestone skeleton that forms the framework of the beautiful coral reefs. Coral Reefs grow very slowly. It could take up to a hundred years for a reef to grow 3ft. (Best&Bornbusch, 2001) Coral Reefs have been in existence for over 215 million years and located in tropical waters. The earths ocean floors cover more than 70% of our planet's surface and 97% of that water is found in the ocean. As everyone knows ocean water is salty and the reason being is due to the salinity in the water. The two ions found in seawater are chloride and sodium. The salt in the ocean's water has...
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...Coral reefs occupy only 0.2% of the ocean floor, yet they are the most biologically diverse marine ecosystems known today, and support over 25% of all marine organisms (Yip). Due to the massive amount of marine species that populate coral reef habitats, maintaining healthy reefs is crucial for the continuation of marine biodiversity. In past years, the increase of mortality rates in coral has been caused by a number of factors, including wide-spread stress and disease. In the Indo-Pacific, coral reefs have been declining at a rate of approximately 2% per year for the last 20 years (Yip). Coral reef fish biodiversity is crucial for the sustainability of the coral reef ecosystem, as well as for the ability of the coral reefs to provide services...
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...The coral bleaching from different perspectives Introduction Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystem that also habitats for coastal animals and offer services to human communities (Kubicek, Muhando and Reuter 2012, p. 1). Coral reefs are places for many fishes and other living creatures in the sea to hide and live. Coral reefs also have a huge impact to human communities. Coral reefs and the beauty of living creatures that live within them have become major attraction for tourist and income for local communities. Unfortunately, human activities have caused coral reefs destroyed because of activities such as overfishing, diving, chemical pollution, reef mining and many other things (Carey 2000, p. 147). This activities lead to coral bleaching, which will become danger for many creatures that live in it. The Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its half coral reef in the last 27 years, and 10 per cent of the damage is caused by coral bleaching (De'ath 2012). Coral bleaching however impact many perspectives. From science perspective, coral bleaching has been a threat for many coral species and fishes that lives in it for they are becoming extinct and destroyed (Kubicek, Muhando and Reuter 2012, p. 1). This will leads to the less variety of the coastal ecosystem riches and incur social and economic loss to its social community. Coral bleaching also have impacts to the indigenous people. Indigenous people have used coral reef and its resources as dependence for their food supply...
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...many things from Kristen Marhaver's TED talks video on "Why I still have hope for coral reefs". In her video she explained why corals in the Pacific Ocean have been dying at an alarming rate, particularly from bleaching brought on by increased water temperatures. In her video she states, "This is happening over an unbelievable scale. The Northern Great Barrier Reef lost two-thirds of its corals last year over a distance of hundreds of miles, then bleached again this year, and the bleaching stretched further south. Reefs in the Pacific are in a nosedive right now, and no one knows how bad it's going to get."Kristen says it is not too late to act, if corals are given time, stable temperatures and strong protection, corals there have shown the ability to survive and...
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...What is coral bleaching? Water that becomes warm can cause coral bleaching which makes the tissue of the coral to become white. That does not mean that the coral is dead in any way, but make the coral become weakened than its original standard. In the Caribbean they have lost 50% of there coral reefs because of the bleaching in one year. But not only are the reefs becoming white because of warm water temperatures also cold temperatures also cause coral bleaching’s in Florida. This made some corals die. Coral reefs provide sea creature’s shelter, secure shorelines, and back fishing industries. The factors for coral bleaching are changes in salinity, diseases, bright sunlight when the water is already too warm, and pollution. There are ways to prevent it like walking instead of driving, plant a tree anywhere, and support local legislators. What is an ecosystem? An ecosystem is living things like plants, animals, and organisms. These depend on non-living things like water, sun, temperature, pressure, and nutrients. What causes ecosystem destruction?...
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...Coral reef's are one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, inhabiting around 25% of all marine species; 4000 of which are fish and another 800 are hard coral (Reaka-Kudla, 1997). Many different factors by both human and natural causes propose threats to the coral reef's. Some of which, if carried on, could mean that the coral reef's will subside. Coral reef's are a major habitat for marine organisms. But if their population declined, this wouldn't just affect different species that live there, it would also affect humans as well. Many different species of fish live in the reef's that humans live off so if overfishing continues in the coral reef's then humans will have to find an alternative food source or try fishing elsewhere. However...
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...international policies to help protect coral reefs? Section 1: Coral Reefs are an important ecosystem that our planet needs to function correctly. Coral is a living organism that forms in colonies which can stretch out for hundreds of miles long and are then called coral reefs. These coral reefs are habitats for a large number of marine species. There are about 600,000 km of coral reef worldwide (State of the Reefs). Most reefs today are about 8,000 years old, and there are records of some being as much as 2.5 million years old (Dimitrov). The ecosystems of coral reefs have the “largest (amount) biodiversity per unit of area on earth” (Dimitrov). Scientists have discovered 93,000 coral reef species; however some estimate that there could be from 950,000 to as much as 9 million different species of coral reef (Dimitrov). Coral reefs are the second largest ecosystem next to tropical rainforests on Earth. The deterioration of coral reefs is a huge warning sign for everyone internationally to implement more policies on coral reef conservation. The problem that is happening internationally is the deterioration of coral reefs. Coral reefs are one of the most endangered ecosystems worldwide. For the first time in history they will be included on the World Conservation Union’s red list of threatened species (Oliver). According to the United Nations Environment Program and the Nature Conservancy, “around 30 percent of the world's coral reefs are already damaged, some irreparably...
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...The dissolution of coral reefs is a growing consequence to human activities, sedimentation, and ocean acidification. While efforts and monetary investments towards regulation of anthropogenic factors and ocean acidification can project small feats of improvement, it will require time to observe whether or not reduction of these factors correlate with restoration. Coral transplantation appears most effective because it directly combats dissolution of coral reefs and aims to return coral ecosystems. Furthermore, human activity including over fishing, oil disposal, sewage, and chemical pollution influence the warming of ocean waters attribute to only a portion of the disruption of diverse coral reef ecosystems. Sedimentation presents itself as a problem because it buries the coral reefs underneath rocky layers and ultimately hinders their growth. Additionally, ocean acidification is a large constituent due to its “impact on rates of biogenic calcium carbonate production by the dominant reef calcifiers: corals and coralline algae” which affect the calcium carbonate structures that hold together the coral reefs (Pandolfi et...
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...The first major threat to coral reefs is global warming or climate change. The warming of the oceans is detrimental for coral reefs because they are very particular about what water temperature they live in. Also the warming of the oceans causes glacier to melt, thus causing rising seas. " The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that sea level is rising at a rate of .12 inches per year—60 percent faster than the .08 inches per year it predicted in 2007" (Global Reef Threats). Rising seas causes coral reefs to be deeper in the ocean. As something gets further away from the surface it common sense that it will receive less light. This will cause the coral reefs to grow slower. This is a problem considering some coral reefs already...
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...Raekwon Filmore Clarkson University Department of Biology Spring 2018 BY-445 Background Coral reefs are one of nature’s most diverse ecosystems. The variation in organisms and plant life is what drives many scientists to understand how something so unique can occur. Because coral reefs are so diverse, they help the environment they inhabit in various ways. Coral reefs are biologically diverse and economically important to the ecosystems of the planet. The reason for this importance to the ecosystems is that it provides services that are essential to human life and industries through fisheries, coastal protection, building materials, new biochemical compounds,...
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