Good Grief! Not the Coral Reef!

Tropical Coral Reef 

The tropical coral reefs are the most diverse ecosystems on the planet due to the vast amount of animals that live in the coral and are protected by them. Unfortunately, the coral reefs are dying at an unsettling rate, and this is because of the stresses that the corals face because of the water that surrounds them.

The Affect of Coral Bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef 

Coral bleaching is a process that corals go through when they are stressed by a significant environmental change, like the change in sea temperature. What happens to the coral is the symbiotic algae that live in the tissue of the coral is expelled, causing the coral to turn white. The algae and the coral have a mutualistic relationship with each other. The coral provides a protected environment and components for the algae, to undergo photosynthesis, while the algae provides the nutrients that the coral needs to stay alive. When the coral does not have the algae in its tissue, it lacks the nutrients that it needs, and cannot survive.

Climate change is one of the leading factors that contribute to the death of coral reefs. Two reasons why climate change is killing the coral are the effect of changing sea temperatures and ocean acidification. Ocean acidification occurs when excess CO2 in the atmosphere dissolves into the oceans, which makes the water more acidic. Where does this excess CO2 in the atmosphere come from? Humans, of course! By burning fossil fuels like coal and oil, the level of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased over time and has vastly affected our ecosystems. When bleaching occurs, it can happen on an enormous scale. In 2016, there was a "mass bleaching event" in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia because of climate change.

 The effect of the death of corals reefs do not only affect the lives of species in the ocean, but they also affect the economies of the places around them. The coral reefs are home to about 9,000 species of marine life, which means that the food webs in the ocean are profoundly affected. The ripple effects from the smallest plankton to the most massive whale shark. In Australia, the death of the coral reef is detrimental to their economy. Because the reef supports the fisheries, which contributes 6.4 billion to the Australian economy and also employs more than 64,000 people. If the coral reefs die, then the animals will die. Fewer animals mean that there will be less money going to the Australian economy, causing people to lose their jobs. Developing countries are also negatively affected by the death of the reefs. Not only are they affected by the lack of fish close to the reefs, but they are also affected by the lack of tourists. Because the beautiful reefs attract tourists to these countries, they are losing money because nobody wants to see dead coral reefs.

Now, you may be asking, What can I do to protect coral? Well, you can start by recycling and disposing of your trash correctly, especially on the beach. Another way that you can protect our coral is to reduce your use of fertilizers in your gardens because when it rains the fertilizers run into the waterways that end up in the ocean, polluting the water and harming the coral reefs. If you decide to take a trip and visit the coral, please avoid touching the reefs, because any contact with the coral reef could damage the corals and the animals that live within them. 

A scuba diver at the coral reef in the Caribbean 

All of these atrocities are due to climate change and how humans are hurting our environment because of the hurtful fossil fuels that we are putting into our atmosphere. Not only does the death of coral affect the lives of species in the ocean, but it also affects the lives of humans and countries that depend on the coral for the stability of their economies. So the next time you take a look at the beautiful corals, think about what you can do to help preserve not only their beauty but the lives that they impact.