Great Barrier Reef Impact

Australia contains the world’s largest reef system stretching 2,000 kilometers along the northeastern coasts (“Australia’s Great Barrier”). The extremely ancient Great Barrier Reef, hosting millions of living things has been studied to be as much as twenty million years old. The area of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Switzerland combined would still be smaller than the Great Barrier Reef, which can be seen from outer space. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. Being the home of ten percent of the World's total fish, it has been established that over 1,500 species of fish live on the reef. Also, researchers have discovered more than 215 species of birds and at least 330 ascidians who call the Great

The Great Barrier Reef supplies natural medicines that could be produced into effective drugs. Many coastal and island communities depend on coral reef fisheries for their economic, social, and cultural benefits. The Great Barrier Reef protects the vulnerable land that it surrounds. It can dissipate wave energy from storms and tsunamis. The biodiversity ensures that some life will maintain survival, even after major catastrophic events that abolish many species (Carilli). The importance of the Great Barrier Reef needs to be recognized due to the rapid increase of the recent mortality rates. After examination of the causes and effects of the Great Barrier Reef destruction, pollution plays the most significant

Oceans are being polluted by substances such as farm fertilizers, chemicals produced in factories, and harmful sewage from towns and cities (Claybourne 38). Trash and debris, especially plastics, are deposited into the oceans by humans. These objects can be mistaken as food by many species, which eventually leads to death. When species consume what looks like to be food, but in reality is hazardous waste, the animal contains that chemical inside of them. When a larger animal consumes the hazardous animal, it affects the entire food chain (“What Is Ocean”). Plastic garbage from ships collects in the oceans, where it is eaten by some animals, causing it to choke them or to block their stomachs (Claybourne 38). Littering raises the carbon dioxide levels in the ocean. The carbon dioxide in the trash raises the temperatures of the water, which can lead to coral bleaching. Most of the trash and debris released into the oceans cannot decompose, leaving it floating in the ocean for many years. As the trash degrades, oxygen is used. This decreases the oxygen levels in the ocean, leading to the chances of survival of the coral and marine life to drop (“What Is Ocean”). Studies show that agricultural pesticides are being dumped into the ocean, causing the health of the Great Barrier