Great Barrier Reef Case Study

By not allowing the fertilizer to get to the reef, bleaching would be significantly slowed. On the other hand, if “bleaching events are moving around the [Great Barrier Reef] system on an annual basis, it does really undermine any potential resilience through connectivity between neighbouring reefs” (David Sugget). In other words, if we do not slow the frequent bleachings, the recovery and survival of the reefs is at a severe jeopardy. When taking the thousands of species that call the Great Barrier Reef home into consideration, it is alarming that we should not try to preserve its spectacular biodiversity. Frighteningly, the reef “will never ever again be as great as it used to be -- at least not in our lifetimes” (C. Mark Eakin). The damage that it has endured has already been too extreme; it’s already tunneling towards its destruction. It is the moral obligation of the Australian government to preserve what remains of the life in the region, for the pure reason of saving an

In this research project I am going to analyse (talk about the issues that you are going to look at) reef conservation, global warming and recreational fishing in Australia. I am going to look at three major political parties; Australian greens, labour party, liberal party.

The Great Barrier Reef a World Heritage listed, it is the vastest stretch of coral reef in the world. This essay will provide information on how the Great Barrier Reef is being protected against global warming for our future generations. We all love going to the beach for a swim or a snorkel however a different image was created by an article published by the Australian Academy of Science on their web site Nova Science in the News (2009): “Imagine you are on a beautiful tropical island on the Great Barrier Reef. You put on your mask, fins and snorkel and jump into the water. But instead of the famous brightly coloured coral, brittle white branches spread as far as the eye can see. The coral is dead.” This image is taking place more

As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Barrier Reef has for years draw both scientists and tourists to its dynamic beauty. The Great Barrier Reef has a long history that has developed vast ecosystems and is home to thousands of marine life, such as corals, mollusks, turtles, and even sharks. Contrary to popular belief, the Great Barrier Reef is made up of thousands of reefs, connecting over 1,400 miles (“Facts”) of the Earth together. However, as a naturally occurring landmark, the reefs are vulnerable to environmental threats and require management for preservation.

Sadly, this gorgeous reef is slowly being destroyed by human faults (Hennessy). Such faults are carelessness like walking on the coral without a care, dropping anchors on the coral, dragging diving gear over them, breaking them and taking them home as souvenirs and knocking and grounding boats on them. Tourism has also created a negative impact; the Great Barrier Reef is one of the most popular attractions in the modern world. The reef is so fragile that by merely walking on a small part or driving a boat too close can destroy thousands of corals. Also things like pollution such as sewerage, oil spills, fertilizers and pesticides damage the reef, cause sevre damge to the reef as they spread though the water and kill off living organisms. These errors place Great Barrier Reef’s environment at a dangerous risk, affecting the overall species and beauty within it. With all of these specific conditions, we can clearly see that human actions can pose great threats to the coral reefs. Coral reefs live in very precise, fragile and balanced marine environments, therefore even the slightest change can have a huge impact on an entire coral ecosystem. These reefs are able to endure many natural stresses by adjusting, however the present human pressures are destroying the reefs such that they cannot recover.

Australia has set aside about one-third of the reef complex as a marine protected area in which all extractive activities are banned. Overfishing and other destructive practices have been halted, but other problems still threaten the reef. Warm water has been causing bleaching (For reasons we don’t fully understand, when they’re stressed by warm water or other factors, the corals expel their algae symbionts. If the bleaching is too severe, the corals die). In recent years, bleaching incidents have become increasingly widespread and severe. In 2002, between 65 and 90 percent of the corals within the 284,000 km2 of the Great Barrier Reef showed signs of bleaching. Global warming can only make this situation worse. Another serious concern is that the increased CO2 concentrations are making ocean water more acidic, which interferes with the coral’s ability to create the calcium carbonate exoskeletons that create the reef. Some marine biologists warn that if current trends continue, all the coral could be dead within the next 50 years.

Coral reefs are generally called the rainforests of the sea, both due to the extensive amount of species they shelter, and to the significant productivity they generate (ICRI 2012). In addition to contributing to a valued habitat, coral reefs provide spawning, nursery, refuge and feeding areas, and provide nearly $30 billion (US) in net benefits in goods and services to world economies, including, tourism, fisheries, and coastal protection (ICRI 2012). Coral reefs are deteriorating all over the world due to untreated sewage and chemical agriculture run-off and unregulated coastal construction, both of which increases sedimentation, but they are also affected by over fishing and destructive fishing practices, scuba diving, and increased tourism (Spalding et al. 2001).

Currently around one fifth of the reefs have been destroyed and are not recovering, one quarter of the reefs are endangered and another quarter are facing long-term collapse. Global warming that has been increased by human activity has affected the reefs by creating warmer temperatures in the waters that will have effects on these highly productive and sensitive ecosystems. Intense over- fishing has caused large disruptions to the food web and animals within the tropic levels. Overexploitation of marine life disrupts the entire stability of oceanic life due to it exhausting foundation plants and animal life. Man-made pollution is another main threat to the health and stability of the Great Barrier Reef’s ecosystem. The development and farming off the coast of Australia is harming the coral reef habitat with dangerous runoff chemicals and sedimentation that may eventually destroy the fragile coral reefs.

The health, management and conservation of biodiversity, is a fundamental issue facing humankind, presenting a real challenge to biology today. The major factors that affect the health and function of our Great Barrier Reef are climate change and pollution. As Queenslanders, it is important that we develop strategies to protect our reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, it is the largest reef system boosting exotic crystal-clear waters, vibrant coloured coral and an abundant variety of marine life. Bleaching of the coral ecosystem influenced by global warming and anthropogenic pollution is putting the reef in mortal danger and generating an environmental

Long chain n-alkanes (n-C11_35) were spanned for all surface sediment samples and demonstrated large variation among some sites in particular at Kharg coral reef (Table 5, Fig 5.b). Sediments collected from sites (KH.ST1 to KH.ST9 and LA.ST1 to LA.ST9), located at the onshore, and the another sites situated at the offshore (KH.ST9 to KH.ST16 and LA.ST9 to LA.ST16), had much higher n-alkane concentrations, ranging from 986.94 to 1810.16 and 1752.45 to 3798.56 at Kharg reef in dry and wet seasons respectively, while varied from 523.99 to 1361.16 in summer and 1275.99 to 2324.16 in winter at Lark reef. Compared with the sites collected near the coast, concentrations were lower, ranging from 541.31 to 1200.59 and 405.92 to 1020.61 in Kharg

2015). A potential answer to the decreasing amounts of coral reefs is the push for efforts in regulation of human activity: reduction of overfishing, of waste disposal into water bodies, of dredging that leads to sedimentation, and of pollution to the oceans; this solution is accomplished with the hope that the recuperation rate of the coral reef ecosystems outpaces the dissolution rate. However, this hope is not easily met, as it is difficult to limit human actions (Figure 1); instead, efforts should refocus towards active

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most important and biologically diverse ecosystems in the world (Reef Relief, 2014). It is intricately laced with the mangrove and seagrass ecosystems. The Great Barrier reef is home and feeding ground to thousands of marine species, such as hard and soft corals, sponges, crustaceans, molluscs, fish, turtles, sharks, dolphins and many more (Reef Relief, 2014). Coral reefs take up only 2% of the

One of the dominant physical elements that has major effects on Australian coastline is the issue of erosion. Erosion is defined as the wearing away of physical rock by wind and water Many coastal landforms such as cliffs, platforms, headland, caves, blowholes and stacks are formed by the process of erosion. It is the key

In Australia, mangroves grow taller, more productive, and more diverse in areas of higher rainfall (Ellison, 2000). Harty (2004) suggests that increases in rainfall reduce salinity levels within salt-marshes which allows mangroves to migrate and outcompete salt-marsh vegetation. This trend of mangrove transgression into salt-marsh habitat has been observed in southeast Australia due to increases in precipitation.