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An essay about ocean acidification
An essay about ocean acidification
Effects on corals from ocean acidification essay
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The increase in the changes of climate is affecting the delicate coral reefs. Coral reefs depend on a balanced temperature to thrive. The increased water temperature due to global warming are causing the coral to become bleached. They turn white and die. This also kills the wildlife and algae that live in them.
Even as the ocean is warming, much of the coral cover will still remain. We will see a rise in sea-level but to a limited extent. Working to adapting and mitigating to these climate changes will prove successful. Efficient land-based conservation efforts and sanctuary management work will be crucial for facing these climate
Imagine sitting in a fancy restaurant and ordering the Willapa Bay oyster special. the waiter says they don’t have any oysters. This tragedy is due to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is happening in Washington’s backyard, but residents might not know what it is. Ocean acidification is when the pH in the ocean is replaced with more acidic substances like carbon dioxide.
Coral reefs are complex ecosystems which each species having an impact on the ecosystem as a whole. For an example an increase of phytoplankton can lead to an increase of Crown of Thorns starfish because their larvae prey on the plankton. Full grown Crown of Thorns starfish eat soft coral and can have a negative impact on coral populations, and the coral cover of that reef. There are anthropogenic factors that can lead to an increase in the phytoplankton population, such as nutrient runoff. This is another lesson, that humans can have an affect on the health of a coral reef, on both a local and a global scale.
Research has shown that sunscreen is having a negeative impact on the health of coral reefs. Trash is dumped and left on beaches daily. Oil spills and boat use disrupt fish and marine life. Erosion has become a big consern for the stability of beaches.
In Caribbean, 36 percent coral reefs are located within 2 km of the inhabited land thus this area of coral reefs ecology have highly susceptible to pressures arising from coastal populations. The extensive construction and development for roads, housing, ports and other development has been required to support both of the residential and tourist populations. The coastal development was poorly managed therefore put stress on coral reefs through direct damage from dredging, land reclamation and sand and limestone mining for construction as well as through less direct pressures such as runoff from construction sites and removal of coastal habitat. Besides that, the loss of mangrove and sea grass which filter sediment and nutrients coming from the land has been widespread in the Caribbean which lead to add the pressure towards coral reef ecology. Next, the increased sediment in the coastal waters reduces the amount of light reaching the coral and hinders the ability of their symbiotic algae which is zooxanthellae for photosynthesis.
When the water of the sea becomes warmer due to higher temperatures which diminishes the oxygen content, the coral expels the algae that exists within their tissues causing it to turn completely white. This results in coral bleaching. Thus, the elevating heat stress which results from high sea temperatures serves as the main factor that induced damage to the coral reefs. If the heat prevails, the reef may even die instead of recovering. Coral reefs provide home to a significant number of sea species and coral bleaching causes their habitats to destroy completely and effect the marine life adversely.
An increase in temperature and rainfall also lead to the change in sea temperature and sea levels. Jennifer (2006) notes that, ‘Sea surface temperatures in many tropical regions have increased by almost 1°C over the past 100 years (some tropical seas up to 2°C) and are currently increasing ~1–2°C per century. In the Great Barrier Reef, sea surface temperatures have increased 0.46°C per century in the north to 2.59°C per century in the waters off Townsville. Sea surface temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef in early 1998 were the warmest in the past 95 years of instrumental record and were associated with significant coral bleaching.’ The annual sea temperature is rising and it will result in many wild animals died in the Great Barrier Reef.
Many different communities are found near different shallow shores or even high shores, the growth of photosynthesis has and increase of higher CO2 levels. Individual ecosystems such as coral reefs, the calcifying organisms form the fundamental architecture of the ecosystem so if they disappear, the ecosystem could disappear. In other ecosystems where calcifiers play a less important role, it is less clear what impact the loss of calcifying species might have on the ecosystem. During profound rapid changes in ocean chemistry like present-day ocean acidification, organisms respond in one of 3 ways: acclimation, adaptation, or extinction when this happens all things are wiped out because of all the other organisms and also they will not have any food sources because of the acid and also the basics of all the acidity. With the acid it does not kill all the animal life but does decrease the number of them depending on how they react to it, In many marine areas, organisms (calcifiers and non-calcifiers alike) are already exposed to temperatures reaching the upper end of their thermal
Understanding the Problem at Hand: Coral Reefs It is important for people worldwide to learn of the importance of the coral reefs and of the negative effects that unrestricted tourism and global warming have been causing to them. To clearly see the big picture, one must first go back to see the early roots of the problem. Coral reefs have been being mapped out as early as some of the first maritime sailors, and soon turned out to be a huge destination for tourism. Unregulated tourism is almost always bad, and this turned out to be the case for the coral reefs as well.
Disease: Stress is the cause of the development of coral diseases. Stresses, such as increased sea temperatures, ultraviolent radiation, and pollutions cause corals to become stressed and eventually perish. Sedimentation: The buildup of sediments on coral reefs prevents corals from receiving sunlight. Since sunlight is vital to the life of corals, the corals will die since the sediments block out the sun.
According to a recent study “If current trends continue and the world fails to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, than severe bleaching will occur every year on 99 per cent of the world's reefs within the century.”
• Crown-of-Thorns: many of animal have been devastate in huge areas of the reef. • Disease: they are suffering with the bacterial infections to save people Human impacts: • climate change: the climate was change by 1-3 ˚C and this lead to o Increase in the frequency o The sea level
The topic of this research paper will cover over Ocean Acidification and the effects on marine ecosystems. Ocean acidification is the decrease in pH levels of the Earth 's oceans, due to overbearing carbon dioxide being brought by the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide is drawn by seawater, where the chemical reactions take place, which minimize the pH levels in the ocean, the carbonate levels and the important calcium carbonate which these sea creatures need. When carbon dioxide disperses in this ocean, it causes the levels of acidity to rise towards the the surface, where most shell growth in marine animals have been stopped and has created the cause of reproductive disorders in multiple fish. Part of the problem with ocean acidification is human activity.
Coastal development: The growth of coastal cities and towns generates a range of threats to nearby coral reefs. Degradation of coral reefs — can result in lost tourism income in countries that are dependent on reef-based tourism and also can reduce fish populations Coral Reef Degradation is caused by natural and man-made events. ... Water pollution comes in a variety of different sources, oil, gas, and pesticide, They poison coral and marine life. Coastal construction — can cause chronic sedimentation, sewage effluent, industrial discharge, and changes in water flow and run off, which can directly affects the coral increasing rated and metabolic activities as well as it directly kills all of the corals Removal of reefs — can result
