Causes Of Coral Bleaching

The coral bleaching phenomenon is occurring all over the world’s coral reefs and it is still happening right knows without we even noticing it. Various approaches have been applied to save this extraordinary God-given structure before it vanishes completely from the earth. However, the world probably should be more concern on the main issues that leads to this problem in the first place. Three major factors that contribute to coral bleaching include the rise in ocean temperature, changes in salinity as well as underwater sedimentation. The ocean that covers 70% of the earth surface play a major role in regulating the earth’s temperature and sometimes, the ocean itself can ‘overheat’. The rise in ocean temperature often associated with

Biological stresses are caused by microbes such as bacteria, fungi and viruses while physiological stresses are response to increase in seawater temperatures, ultraviolet radiation and pollutants. The recurrence of the coral diseases raise notably over these presents years leading to an extensive mortality of the coral reef. By monitoring coral disease, a baseline and long-term data set that can be used to learn on how climate and anthropogenic drivers affect coral reef sustainability (Harvell, 2007). According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science researchers, they proclaimed that the coral diseases were responsible for 6.5 per cent of coral death recorded on the Great Barrier Reef between 1995 and 2000. The three most common coral diseases and their causes are as

The huge numbers of algae can block the pores on sponges, block light penetration through to the zooxanthellae living within the corals, and decrease the its resistance to coral diseases. Pollutions such as sewage outflow, the use of fertilizers from both urban and agricultural have huge impacts on coral reefs. These wastes contain high concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus which are toxic to the reef ecosystem. The large content of phosphorus and nitrogen from animal waste and fertilizers are lethal to coral polyps. The excess nutrients may induce pathogen and provide the elements required by the pathogen to proliferate or become directly toxic to the coral making them more susceptible to the disease.The imbalance in the exchange of nutrients between the zooxanthellae and the host coral reduces light penetration to the reef due to nutrient-stimulated phytoplankton growth, and, most harmful of all, may bring about proliferation of seaweeds (Dubinsky, 1996).Nevertheless, the study had discovered that the coral capable to recover and revive once the nutrients supplies stopped. Last but not least, various chemicals of pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture practices are flowing into the water cycle via soil infiltration and surface run-off.

One of the most critical threats