CORAL REEFSWHY ARE CORAL REEFS BEING DESTROYED?Coral reefs and their habitats are being destroyed due to different reasons, some are:Climate change- corals cannot survive if the temperature is too high. An increased temperature within the earth’s atmosphere has already been caused due to global warming, this further leads to an increase to coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is the process through which the corals turn white. When the water gets too warm the corals release and let out, the algae which lives within their tissues, eventually turning the corals white. When a coral bleaches white the coral is not dead however they are subjected to mortality.
Another aspect which can harm coral reefs are, certain types of fishing. More particularly destructive fishing. For example cyanide fishing, blast or dynamite fishing. Bottom trawling fishing is one of the greatest threats to cold water coral reefs. Bottom trawling fishing is the act through when heavily weighted nets are dragged through the ocean flaw.
When these heavily weighted nets are dragged against the seabed everything within their path is destroyed. This includes sea grass, coral reefs, rock gardens and many more.Pollution is another great cause harming coral reefs. When certain toxins are dumped into the oceans, they increase the level of nitrogen within the ocean, this eventually causes an overgrowth of algae.
The overgrowth of algae smothers the reefs and cute off their sunlight.WHAT ANIMALS AND PLANTS ARE FOUND WITHIN THAT HABITAT?Plants – algae and seagrassAnimals – fish corals and lobsters.WHY IS THE HABITAT IMPORTANT TO HUMANS?Coral reefs provide importance for many different reasons. Coral reefs provide protection to many coastlines from the damaging effects of the waves and many tropical storms. As well as that coral reefs assist in carbon and nitrogen fixing and help with nutrient recycling.
Within the coral reef many fish spawn there before making their way out to the open sea, which is why the fishing industry is particularly dependent on coral reefs. The Australian economy generate more than 1.5 billion dollars every year due to The Great Barrier Reef, from fishing and tourism. WHAT IS BEING DONE TO PROTECT THE HABITAT?In 1998 the president of the United States- Bill Clinton, established the coral reef task force in order to protect and safeguard coral reefs.The NOAA have constructed detailed digital maps of reefs using high resolution imagery as well as
