Preview

Great Barrier Reef Research Papers

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
202 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Great Barrier Reef Research Papers
With a show of hands, how many people know about the Great Barrier Reef? The Great Barrier Reef is located off of the coast of Queensland in Australia. It is actually the largest living thing on Earth, and is even visible from outer space. One thing you may not have known about reefs is that they can only stay alive under a very specific and narrow temperature range. If the water becomes too warm, it can eventually kill the coral. Sadly, this is exactly what has happened this year. According to data recently released, El Niño, the heating of the Pacific ocean region, has resulted in bleaching throughout the entire Great Barrier Reef. Coral and the algae that give the coral their beautiful, bright colors, depend on one another to survive. If

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Study Notes Australian Biota

    • 2482 Words
    • 10 Pages

    - The continents fit together like a jig-saw puzzle. Rocks on the opposing edges are exactly…

    • 2482 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The atmospheric processes encountered within the Great Barrier Reef are ultimately responsible for shaping the reef ecosystem. The reef, which lies within Australia’s cyclone zone, is subject to the impacts of cyclones throughout the Australian tropical cyclone season, which extends from the months of November to April. The intensity and duration of these intense low-pressure systems ultimately determines the level of damage inflicted upon the coral. These cyclones are not only associated with strong winds that generate large storm waves that rip apart the softer corals and chip the hard corals, but also bring with them large volumes of rain, which alter the salinity and turbidity levels within the waters. This ecosystem experiences relatively warm temperatures, which range from an average maximum of 30˚C in January and 23˚C in July, and an average minimum of 24˚C in January and 18˚C in July, and an increase of even just a few degrees Celsius can have detrimental impacts on this environment. It is understood that Tropical Cyclone Larry, which crossed the reef on March 2006, surprisingly benefited the reef ecosystem as it led to a reduction in water temperature, which in turn prevented a coral bleaching event that was predicted due to a rise in sea surface temperatures. Hence, the climate and weather systems present…

    • 948 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good 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

    wrecked to have an effect on the Great Barrier Reef, however, as larger vessels passing…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Great Barrier Reef Essay

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Then the primary consumers in the Great Barrier Reef are mostly the green sea turtles and dugongs because they are the herbivores and eat the producers. From there the secondary consumers in the reef would be what eats the primary consumers and these organisms would mostly be the bigger reef fish like the parrot fish, sturgeon fish, and also turtles like the leatherback sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, and other organisms like that. Then from there are the tertiary consumers which consume the secondary consumers and some examples of these in the reef are the epaulette shark, whale shark, tiger shark, and other examples like that. The last category of the organisms would be the decomposers which are the organisms that are stay on the bottom of the reef and eat whatever is down there and those are the prawns, sea cucumbers, shrimp, crayfish, crab, and brittle…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    This is currently the largest and most biodiverse ecosystem in the world, spanning across 348 000 square kilometres of Australia’s Northeast coast. Starting from the top of Cape York (10 degrees 41’ S, 145 degrees E) 2300km down to just north of Bundaberg. Billions of coral polyps form the basis of this intricate biodiverse marine ecosystem, relying heavily on complex biophysical interactions resulting in its vulnerability. There a number of factors leading up to stresses placed upon this ecosystem in particular, human induced…

    • 1912 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better 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
  • Good Essays

    work cited

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Warmer ocean temperatures are also now understood to cause coral bleaching. Rising levels of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas emissions) are also decreasing the pH level of the ocean, known as ocean acidification. Evidence suggests that this will have a profound effect on the entire marine ecosystem.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 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

    In the article “ The Great Barrier Reef: a catastrophe laid bare “ by Michael Slezak talks about how global warming impacts The Great Barrier Reef. “Bleaching caused by climate change has killed almost a quarter of its coral this year and many scientists believe it could be too late for the rest.Bleaching caused by climate change has killed almost a quarter of its coral this year and many scientists believe it could be too late for the rest.” In 1929 thermal bleaching was recorded for the first time on the reef, throughout the next 87 years the reef was hit on numerous other occasions. “When the coral dies, the entire ecosystem around it transforms. Fish that feed on the coral, use it as shelter, or nibble on the algae that grows among it die…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 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

    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

    Coral Reef Essay

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays