Environmental Concerns

Coral reefs are being destroyed at an alarming rate. It is estimated that we have already lost 10% of the worlds reefs and scientists say that in the next 50 years many of the reefs will be gone. This destruction is often a result of human activity such as pollution, sewage, and natural events such as rising sea temperatures.

Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching is when coral becomes stressed due to changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. When a coral becomes stressed it releases all the symbiotic algae living on their coral tissue, causing them to turn completely white. Without the algae, the coral loses its major source of food and is more susceptible to disease. Coral bleaching does not kill the coral, but does subject the coral to mortality.

Environmental Impact

Coral reefs only occupy .2% of the world's oceans, yet are the home to a quarter of marine species. They also provide food and resources for over 500 million people in 94 countries and territories, as well as protect coastlines from harmful effects of wave action and tropical storms. Losing coral reefs would largely impact nature, our resources and safety in a negative way.

Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)

The Coral Reef Conservation Program is a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Line Offices that work on coral reef issues. They bring together expertise from across NOAA for an expert approach to understanding and conserving coral reef ecosystems. They've found that climate change has led to more events of coral bleaching and high chances of coral getting infected by disease.

Citations

Bauer, Adriana. "Biodiscovery and the Great Barrier Reef." Queensland Museum. Accessed March 06, 2017. http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/microsites/biodiscovery/05human-impact/importance-of-coral-reefs.html.

"Coral bleaching." Wikipedia. March 06, 2017. Accessed March 06, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_bleaching.

"Coral Reef Adventure." Coral Reef Adventure. Accessed March 06, 2017. http://coralfilm.com/.

"KDE Santa Barbara." KDE Santa Barbara. Accessed March 06, 2017. http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/coralreef.html.

"Losing Our Coral Reefs." State of the Planet Losing Our Coral Reefs Comments. Accessed March 06, 2017. http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/06/13/losing-our-coral-reefs/.

Program, NOAAs Coral Reef Conservation. "NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) Home Page." NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) Home Page. October 12, 2007. Accessed March 06, 2017. http://coralreef.noaa.gov/.

US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What is coral bleaching?" NOAA's National Ocean Service. March 15, 2010. Accessed March 06, 2017. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html.

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