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The Deterioration of Coral Reefs
What is a Coral Reef ?
Coral reefs are truly an underwater beauty. Their vibrant colors and spectacular form house several hundred species of marine
animals. Coral reefs attract not only fish, but people too. Scuba divers love to admire this ecosystem. Coral reefs are in danger of dying very quickly due to numerous reasons. Coral reefs house several
hundred species of marine animals and provide a great tourist attraction to people but the deterioration of coral reefs can be blamed on
human recklessness and solutions are needed to prevent the deterioration of coral reefs. Coral reefs are a delicate ecosystem full of different types biological populations, which is the most diverse in the
world. There are three main classifications of coral reefs. They are
fringing reefs which are the most common, they extend away from
shores of landmasses. Barrier reefs which parallel to the shore divided by a lagoon or another water mass. The last type of reefs are
atolls, they rest on submerged volcanoes . There are more than 700
Inside this fact sheet:
species of reef-building coral (Exploring the Environment). Each
What is a Coral Reef?
coral community is made up of polyps. Tiny algae called
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zooxanthellae live in the coral skeletons and share their color giving
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the bight and colorful presence. Corals are animals that belong to the What are the Purposes of Coral Reefs?
group cnidarian (Environmental Protection Agency).
Protection and Treatments, Food and Shelter, 2
Coral reefs desire a balanced environment. They need clear
Indicators of Water Quality
water, a narrow range of temperatures, stable salinity, and low nutri- Why are Coral Reefs Dying?
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ents (Exploring the Environment). Most coral species survive in 18
to 30 degrees Celsius (Exploring the Environment). They need that Why are Coral Reefs Dying? Cont.
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range of temperatures to survive, if it goes out of that range for a
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long time it may become damaged and die. Clear waters are crucial What Can be Done to Stop this?
for coral reefs
Works Cited
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because they
rely on the
sunlight for their food through the process of photosynthesis. If the waters are cloudy from pollution the will be unable to feed themselves. Coral reefs are found in shallow
waters up to 100 meters (Exploring the Environment).
According to, Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the
Resilience of Coral Reefs, “reefs are in serious decline; an
estimated 30% are already severely damaged, and close to
60% may be loss by 2030 (Hughes et al., 929). Coral reefs
are dying and there are no untouched reefs left (Hughes et
al., 929).
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The Deterioration of Coral Reefs
What are the Purposes of Coral Reefs?
Protection and Treatments
Coral reefs hold many purposes. “Coral reefs are critically
important for the ecosystem goods and services they provide to
maritime tropical and subtropical nations (Hughes et al., 929). One
of the purposes is they protect coastlines from storms. They also
protect beaches from erosion. This is very crucial for eroding coastlines. Coral reefs provide sand for beaches. Another purpose of
coral reefs is the new sources for medications that help treat illnesses. Researchers found sources for medications in the rain forest
so it was likely that they would find sources for new medications in
the ocean (Environmental Protection Agency).
Coral reefs house many colorful fish. They provide food and shelter for more than one million plants and
animals. Zooxanthellae algae are the most common residents of coral reefs (Exploring the Environment). Coral
reefs are nurseries and fishery areas for marine animals.
Some marine animals that call coral reefs home are different types of algae, fish, sea snails, sea snakes, sponges,
starfish, jellyfish, and turtles. Coral reefs are very diverse
and it’s no surprise that they are great tourist attractions.
The bright colors of the coral reefs bring tourists in from
all over the world. They help out local economies because
people enjoy the beaches as well as other activities
(Environmental Protection Agency).
Food and Shelter
Indicators of Water Quality
Reefs can only survive in a specific type of
environment. The temperatures have to be in a
certain range, it has to have the right amount of
salinity, the water has to be clear because the algae
needs to photosynthesize for food, and finally
there can’t be a lot of pollution. If the coral reefs
start dying researchers will investigate what is
causing them to die (Environmental Protection
Agency). One example of how coral reefs are
great detectors of water quality is when water temperatures increased due to El Nino, coral reefs
died due to coral bleaching. Researchers knew that
something was wrong with the ocean water because the coral reefs were dying (Hughes et al.,
929).
The Deterioration of Coral Reefs
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Why are Coral Reefs Dying?
Coral reefs are dying, but the question is why are they
dying? Several reasons that coral reefs are dying are people’s
abuse, recreational abuse, over fishing or aggressive fishing
methods, pollution including nutrient and chemical as well as
fertilizers, coral bleaching, deforestation, invasions of foreign
marine life, and human disturbances in the environment. Coral
reefs are extremely delicate. They can; however, handle natural
stresses such as hurricanes and typhoons (Hughes et al., 929).
The zooxanthellae and coral may not be able to adapt to environmental changes which could lead to death (930).With the always
present human stresses, coral reefs are having a hard time recovering from environmental stresses (Global Coral Reef Alliance).
People’s abuse on coral reefs is the worse type of stress.
The amount of human impacts on reefs has grown over the past
years (Hughes et al., 929). Reefs are not able to endure prolonged stress. The Environmental Protection Agency says, “humans contribute to the deterioration of coral
reefs through physical damage” (Environmental Protection Agency). If nothing is done to stop the damage of
coral reefs they could become extinct. This would hurt the marine animals because they have no habitat to survive and it would hurt people because it provides new sources for medication as well as tourism.
Recreational abuse, tourists, and overfishing are all abuses that coral reefs are facing. When boats drop
anchor or bottom out coral reefs can be struck and die. Tourists can also harm the coral by touching it. Reefs
are very sensitive and cannot handle foreign things (Exploring the Environment). Overfishing and aggressive
fishing methods are detrimental to coral reefs. Fishermen inject cyanide into the water in order to stun them
which makes them easier to catch. They also blow up reefs. When asked what their reason for doing this was
they said, “they had no other option if they are to compete with trawlers and overcome a smaller supply of fish
because of previous overfishing” (Exploring the Environment). Overfishing creates an imbalance of species in
coral reefs. Especially, overfishing of plant-eating fish can cause and increase in algae. Coral reefs need to
have an ecological balance (Exploring the Environment).
Deforestation and pollution are other type of abuses coral reefs face. When trees are cut down that creates more sediment that eventually goes to the ocean
through runoff. Water can also be polluted making it difficult for reefs to survive. Pollution can vary from oil spills to
fertilizers. Oil spills are detrimental to coral reefs because it
can kill the marine animals (Exploring the Environment).
Smooth surfaces such as parking lots and roads makes runoff more common. When the water runs off it takes all the
materials on the ground to surface waters (Environmental
Protection Agency). Fertilizers are another problem. Fertilizers that runoff from land transports nutrients into the water. Since fertilizers grow plants, it will cause a growth in
algae. Too much algae can block the sunlight and then
zooanthellae algae cannot photosynthesize (Exploring the
Environment).
The Deterioration of Coral Reefs
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Why are Coral Reefs Dying? Cont.
Coral bleaching is a big killer among coral reefs. Coral
bleaching is the lost of color pigmentation. What happens is the
algae leaves the coral because of higher water temperatures, disease, and high solar irradiance giving it the bleached appearance
(Brown 129). According to Exploring the Environment, “coral reefs
exist in a very narrow temperature range, these natural climate
changes might affect their health” (Exploring the Environment).
Since they live in such a small temperature range, events such as El
Nino has a huge impact on them. A one to two degrees difference is
enough stress to cause coral bleaching (Exploring the Environment). Coral bleaching is strongly related to Enso or otherwise
known as El Nino-Southern Oscillation. This causes higher ocean
temperatures (Hughes et al.,
929).
The elevated sea temperature is a common feature of coral
bleaching. Bleaching was observed when seasonal temperatures exceeded the maximum. It occurs in the Indian and Pacific ocean as well
as, the Caribbean daily. If the ocean temperatures continue to rise coral
reefs will face a very aggressive environment. Solar irradiance is also a
common characteristic of bleaching events (Brown, 131-132). Elevated
sea temperatures can be explained by global warming, climate change,
and increased greenhouse gases (Hughes et al., 929). Global warming
and ultraviolet radiation are factors that researchers have puzzled over.
The ozone is being eaten away by high levels of carbon dioxide. This is
affecting coral reefs by ultraviolet radiation (Exploring the Environment). It is also interfering with the ocean chemistry that results in
weakening coral reefs (Hughes et al., 929).
Another threat to coral reefs is an invasion of foreign marine life. This can be blamed on fertilizers that runoff to the ocean.
Once there is a high productivity of food supply organisms go to
the place where food is abundant. This is the case for the crown of
thorns starfish. Since there was a high productivity of algae growth,
crown of thorns starfish went to coral reefs. The starfish multiplied
and they have destroyed several beautiful coral reefs. It doesn’t
take them long to clean out coral reefs. The final thing that is a
threat to coral reefs is human disturbances in the environment. Human disturbances can stress the coral reefs (Exploring the Environment). By monitoring the reefs we can identify stresses to coral
reefs (Environmental Protection Agency). There are many stressors
that can cause coral reefs to die. They are abuse, recreational abuse,
over fishing or aggressive fishing methods, pollution including nutrient and chemical as well as fertilizers, coral bleaching, deforestation, invasions of foreign marine life, and human disturbances in
the environment.
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The Deterioration of Coral Reefs
What Can Be Done to Stop This?
Coral reefs are in danger of becoming extinct. If actions are not taken to prevent coral deterioration they will be extinct. Luckily, there are preventative measures and even solutions to several coral reef problems. Recreational abuses such as anchoring can use installed buoys instead of anchoring (Global Coral Reef Alliance). To prevent boats from
destroying coral by bottoming out, boats should have limited access near coral reefs.
Overfishing and aggressive fishing style cause an imbalance of marine life. By limiting
the amount of fish allowed to catch at one time, it will help maintain the balance of marine life as well as keep
the fishermen content. As for aggressive fishing methods, that method of fishing should be banned because it
hurts the coral and actually hurts more than it helps. Scuba divers can harm coral by touching it, people are
urged not to touch it. Deforestation and pollution hurt coral reefs also. Creating an awareness of how cutting
down trees effect the coral reefs could be enough for people to be smarter about cutting down trees. Going
Green is another good way to stop deforestation. Urging people to use fertilizers with no chemical enhancers
or even inventing a fertilizer that won’t hurt coral reefs will help (Global Coral Reef Alliance).
Coral reef forces have been established by the Environmental Protection Agency. They work by helping to restore and prevent further damage to coral reefs. In fact, they have paired up with Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Together they provide resources for the Florida Keys Coral Reef Monitoring Project.
They research what is causing the death of coral reefs. The Environmental Protection Agency also partnered
with Coral Reef Initiatives to preserve coral reefs in U.S territories. Their goal is to manage sustainably in
coral reef ecosystems (Environmental Protection Agency).
Coral reefs house several hundred species of marine animals and provide a great tourist attraction to
people but the deterioration of coral reefs can be blamed on human recklessness and solutions are needed to
prevent the deterioration of coral reefs. Coral reefs also face several problems. Changes must be done to stop
the deterioration of coral reefs. If not people will not be able to admire their beauty and a whole ecosystem
will be destroyed.
Works Cited
Brown, B.E. "Coral bleaching: causes and consequences." Coral Reefs. 16.5 (1997): 129-138. Print.
Environmental Protection Agency, . "Coral Reef Protection: What Are Coral Reefs?." United States Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. EPA, 15 Feb 2011. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/habitat/
coral_index.cfm>.
Exploring the Environment, . "Coral Reefs." Exploring the Environment., 10 Mar 2011. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://
www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/coralreef/CRhydro.html>.
Global Coral Reef Alliance, . "Why are Coral Reefs Dying?." Global Coral Reef Alliance. 10 Mar 2011. Web. 28 Mar
2011. <http://www.globalcoral.org/why_are_coral_reefs_dying.htm>.
Hughes, T.P., Baird, Bellwood, Card, Connolly, Folke, Grosberg, Hoegh-Guldberg, Jackson, Kleypas, Lough, Marshall,
Nystrom, Palumbi, Pandolfi, Rosen, and Roughgarden "Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the Resilience of
Coral Reefs." Science. 301.5635 (2003): 929-933. Print.