Preview

Coral Reef Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
497 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Coral Reef Essay
Our coral reefs along our Hawaiian Islands are in danger. The Hawaiian Coral Reefs suffer from degradation, which began about 100 years ago from westerners arriving and increasing. We need to do something to prevent our coral reefs from being in harm. They are suffering from oil spills, overfishing, bleaching, and careless tourists. In order for us to make a change, we have to research and find for solutions.
Our reefs are complex and very diverse to the habitat. They are unique in many ways, like the colors and patterns of how they grow. Sea life rely on the coral reefs for habitat and sources of food. Coral reefs has a long process to grow, about one year to make only an inch and they are needed to be in the right climate for example they
…show more content…
There are fringing, barrier, and atoll. Fringing reefs are attached to margins of an island or continent and is rough. Fringing reefs grow in shallow water near the shore and prefer dry climates. Barrier reefs grow best where the land is sinking faster than the water.The third type of coral reef is the atoll. Atolls consist of a continuous or broken ring of coral reef surrounding a central lagoon. Atolls are unique because they reach to depths of thousands of meters to the ocean floor. The reefs cover only about 1% of the earth’s surface. Lastly, in my research I found out that Scientific reports show that there has been a rapid increase in the damage to reefs in the past 20 years, and scientists believe that in two more decades, the world’s reefs will decline by 30%. Over half the world’s reefs are in danger of human harm, and 27% are at high risk.
Coral reefs are one of the most interesting things on earth. It is a shame that people know so little about them and that they aren’t taken care of near as well as they should be. They are fascinating to learn about if you put time and effort to learn about them and what they are. Also, what they all do for our environment. Our solution for taking care of our reefs are to educate yourself about coral reefs, volunteer for reef clean-ups, do not anchor down on the reefs, and reduce, reuse, and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Review Questions Chapter 6

    • 1167 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. Coral reefs are elaborate networks of crevices, ledges, and holes made up of calcium carbonate; coral polyps are tiny animals that build coral reefs by secreting a crust of limestone around their bodies that accumulate once multiple polyps die. Coral reefs help moderate atmospheric temperatures by removing CO2 from the atmosphere, act as natural barriers that help protect 15% of the world’s coastlines from erosion by battering waves and storms, provide habitats for a variety of marine organisms, produce about one-tenth of the global fish catch, one-fourth of the catch in developing countries, provide jobs and building materials for some of the world’s poorest countries, and support fishing and tourism industries worth billions of dollars each year. Coral bleaching is when a coral becomes stressed and the algae on which it depends for food and color die out, leaving an underlying white or bleached skeleton of calcium carbonate; this occurs because of increased water temperatures and runoff of silt from the land.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the global climate changing so are the coral like many other things and sadly they are dying off because of the temperature changing. Which is causing coral reef bleaching which is when the whitening of diverse invertebrate taxa it is caused by when zooxanthellae decline and or the concentration of photosynthetic pigments within the zooxanthellae…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Global climate change, unsustainable fishing impacts, and land-based pollution are some threats that decline the coral reefs. According to Terry Gibson, a co-author of a report from University of Miami, said that “from scuba diving in the Keys to charter fishing boats in Miami-Dade to commercial fishing in Martin County, reef-related sales amount to more than $5.5 billion each year.” Also, heavy touristic activities such as diving and snorkeling can take a toll on coral reefs. According to engineering firm Hazen & Sawyer, their survey on participation in recreational activities concludes that “five counties, Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Martin, and Palm Beach, make up more than 70,000 jobs and over $5.5 billion in annual sales in recreation related to coral reefs”. From this, employment relating to coral reefs generate more than $2.5 billion in annual income. The firm also mentioned that “overall users were willing to pay an additional $10.51 per day to fund efforts to preserve natural coral reefs and construct new artificial ones.” This may lead an increase in overall tourism to an area, meaning more visitors to both the artificial and natural reefs. However, these artificial reefs would then cause obstruction to habitats and attract invasive…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hawaii Shark Attack Essay

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Sharks are one of the most feared carnivores in the ocean. Most of them eat live fish, including other sharks. Sharks have the record of attacking human beings. But fewer than 100 shark attacks a year are reported throughout the world. The Hawaii state government genuinely want to protect ocean users, but at the same time they are well aware that there is no “magic bullet” to prevent shark attacks in Hawaii. The Hawaii State Government will not be able to prevent shark attacks in Hawaii.…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Coral Reef

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Coral reef and Desert ecosystem. The coral reef and desert ecosystem can be very similar or very different.The difference between the biotic and abiotic factors in the coral reef and the desert the ones in the coral reef live under water ,and in the desert none of them live under water only some of the fish do. Some of the biotic animals in the coral reef are dolphins and seals. bivalves, gastropods, tunicates, sponges, polychaete and feather duster worms, some corals, sea urchins, some crabs, green sea turtles, and herbivorous fish.Large reef fish, sharks, eels and barracudas. Some of the biotic animals in the desert are the gerbil, jerboa, Cape hare, desert hedgehog, barbary sheep, dorcas gazelle, sand fox, common jackal, spotted hyena, and the slender mongoose. Some of the biotic plants in the desert are the cypress, olive, and mastic trees aacia, artemisia, doum palm, oleander, date palm, and thyme trees. The coral reef is part of an ocean biome which is a big group of very similar ecosystems.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A lot of humans and businesses depend on the Coral Reef as a food supply, protection and for jobs, especially on the islands of Hawaii were most of time people spend their time in or under the water. Hawaii is known as Paradise Island because of its healthy and beautiful Coral Reef and understanding how to keep it healthy is extremely important to me because Coral Reefs are lowly depleting and I want to know why and what there is I can help do to save them, cause they are a great defense, buffering the waves, storms and potential floods which in turn help property damage and erosion. Coral Reefs help support commercials and businesses that support tourism and popular fishing and surfing that takes place around the islands coast. The 21st century has relied on the Coral Reef heavily calling it the “Medicine Cabinet” with the Coral Reef plants and some of the animals that live in it new sources of medicine to help treat major diseases like Cancer, heart disease, arthritis and viruses. The protection of the coral reef means a lot to me and although I haven’t been on the island long I am putting myself in those who have and look back on tragic events that have damaged the coral reef like the February 5th 2009 USS Port Royal ship grounding that destroyed millions of dollars of coral reef and not only did the ship do that but they also dumped their waste that was stored on the ship in the nearby waters which also polluted the water and killed hundreds of fish and possibly the remaining coral reef in that area, now for someone to destroy that much of the history gets me…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Coral reef systems cover approximately 284,300 sq. km and just under 0.1% of the ocean’s surface area yet they provide habitats for approximately 25% of all marine species (UNEP, 2001). Whilst the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, it is followed by other large coral reef systems including the ‘Mesoamerican barrier reef’ which stretches 1000km from the Yutacan Peninsula in south-east Mexico to the Bay Islands of the Honduras as well as the ‘New-Caledonia Barrier Reef’ which is the second largest duble barrier reef in the world (UNEP, 2001). Other large coral reef systems are also found the Bahamas, Philippines, United States as well various islands around the world. Whilst corals are found extensively across the coastlines of many countries they can also exist in deep water however very little is known about them.…

    • 1911 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coral reefs are beautifully seen in shallow areas, such as the Australia’s eastern coast, also known as the “The Great Barrier Reef”. The reef covers an area over 300,000 square kilometers. Amazingly enough, the Great Barrier Reef also covers wide range of ocean depth. People consider that the coral reef is the most complex ecosystem on Earth.…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The coral reef is a home to more than 3,000 species of fish, 700 species of hard coral and around 100 other species. Scientists say that there could be 1-8 million undercovered species. If not protected all these species have nowhere to go and the undiscovered species will likely not be discovered. We cannot let these species die a whole ecosystem will be lost. Ocean Conservancy was created in 1972, they offer 2,300,000 jobs to people. Over the 25 years the organization was around they were able to clean up 144,606,491 pounds of trash. They strive to keep the ocean healthy and capable of having wildlife live in it. They also want to keep coastal areas healthy as well. Ocean Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that…

    • 1547 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coral reefs are home to many fishes and plants. Because of global warming, 16% of the world’s coral reefs were wiped out in one year alone (“Global Warming and Coral Reefs”). Ocean temperatures have also risen by 1.3 ° Fahrenheit since the last 19th century (Coral bleaching and ocean acidification are two climate-related impacts to coral reefs). The increasing carbon dioxide levels lead to coral bleaching. This occurs when coral responds to the stress of the temperature warming. This expels the colorful algae that live within most of the coral dies, so the entire ecosystem disappears. Warmer waters are expected to increase the chance of coral diseases such as black band disease, white plague, and white pox. All of the diseases lead to the killing of coral reefs and the entire ecosystem is supports.…

    • 1989 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coral Reef Structure

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Over the last few years there has also been a large rise in climate causing the oceans to heat up. The oceans heating up cause the carbon dioxide in the water to rise causing a bleaching effect on the coral, which is extremely dangerous because it prevents the coral from growing and causes them to calcify. This issue has caused many conservationist to worry about the future of reefs. According to National Geographic this is becoming a large problem because of how long it takes coral to actually mature. "That spells trouble for corals, which often take 15 years to reach sexual maturity and reproduce only once a year" (As Oceans Heat Up, a Race to Save World's Coral Reefs). National Geographic along with other programs have started many conservations and programs to help slow down the dying rate of the reefs. A biological oceanographer at the University of Miami gave this quote to National Geographic, "So a lot of our efforts are to give first aid to buy time until we can fix the problem, like CO2 [levels]. We can make a difference. It's not that hard" (As Oceans Heat Up, A Race to Save World's Coral Reefs). This just shows that with everyone's help we can all change the future of these…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Barrier Reef is the largest biological organism in the world, the balanced ecology of the Great Barrier Reef is very vulnerable to even the smallest human influence. The range, frequency and the scale of human impacts on coral reefs are building to the extent that reefs are threatened globally. Pollution, global warming and over-fishing are the main factors that are tipping the stability of the ecosystems within the coral reefs. Pollution has made a huge impact on the Great Barrier Reef and its struggle for survival, human based pollution has caused such harm to our reefs that it needs to be stopped or reduced dramatically in order to save our this fragile ecosystem. The human pollution has been a major source for issues concerning the Great Barrier Reef and its struggle to survive in modern day conditions.…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coral reefs have been dubbed the “rainforests of the oceans”, because of the rich diversity of life they support, as more than one quarter of all marine animals depend upon coral reefs. Coral reefs are also a source of food and income for millions of people. The coral reef ecosystems benefit humans commercially, recreationally and environmentally. Without them many tourism based industries would collapse, treatments or cures for some illnesses would disappear, and the countless organisms they support would be left without food or shelter. For these reasons and numerous others, it is vital that we protect coral reefs.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world’s largest coral reef system, The Great Barrier Reef, is shrinking at an incredibly rapid rate (Environmental Threats). Over the past 27 years, it has lost approximately half of its coral (Happening to GBR). This is due to many reasons; it includes oil spills, poor water quality, shipping, climate change etc. (Environmental Threats). One of the main reasons is overfishing (Environmental Threats). For example, the species of Crown-of-thorns Starfish have killed a large portion of the Great Barrier Reef (Happening to GBR). This starfish has few predators because humans are overfishing many of them (Crown-of-thorns Starfish). To prevent future damage, humans must stop overfishing so species that are destroying the reef can be destroyed. Also, the pollution brought by the boats of the fishers is contaminating the reef (Environmental Threats).…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ARTICLE2

    • 1034 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Our understanding of coral reefs is now that there aren’t different kinds of coral reefs but rather all coral reefs are in different stages of development.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays