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Causes of Degrading of Coral Reefs and the Impact on Local Communities -…
Causes of Degrading of Coral Reefs and the Impact on Local Communities
Climate change, tourism, and other anthropogenic activities are degrading coral reefs
Coral reefs provide physical protection from waves, storms, tsunamis, etc.
Coastal communities are more vulnerable to the natural elements that coral reefs once protected them from
Coastal communities with more money can take new measures to protect themselves from the natural elements, such as adapted architectural designs. However, for communities with less resources, they will suffer more from these natural disasters because they don't have ways to protect themselves
Reefs are important for local economies in coastal communities
Less tourism and small coastal communities suffer from lack of economic growth
For smaller coastal communities that depend only on tourism for their economy, lower levels of tourism will affect them more than costal communities who have more money and do not solely depend on tourism for their money
Coral reefs are important for fisheries, many small coastal communities depend on coral reef fish as their primary source of protein
As coral reefs deteriorate, they lose biodiversity, and coastal communities lose their primary food source
Communities with more money/resources can easily switch food sources, however, impoverished communities struggle to find another protein source
Impact of Climate Change and Local Activites on Coral Reefs
Climate change causes of reef loss
Global Warming
Cause of coral bleaching and mass coral deaths
Global warming not only increases temperatures on the surface, but in the ocean as well
When water gets too warm the coral has to release its algae (which provide its food source) so the coral turns white and dies
Cause of increased storm activity
Warmer ocean water (due to Global Warming) have helped increase storm activity
Strong storms can completely wipe out large coral reefs
Ocean Acidification
Cause of coral deaths through faster growth of seaweed and algae
Elevated levels of CO2 in the ocean allow for more photosynthesis to be performed by seaweed and algae
Leads to overgrowth of seaweed and algae over coral (essentially strangling the coral)
Occurs as a result of burning fossil fuels (releasing CO2 into atmosphere) and deforestation (because trees absorb CO2 and with less trees more of the CO2 is going into the atmosphere).
Increase in CO2 means a decrease in PH (acidification)
Ocean acidification is decreasing
Local causes of reef loss
Overfishing
Dynamite Fishing
Can destroy coral reefs completely
Gill nets
Harm fish and habitat
Act as an eraser to the ocean floor and can completely destroy reefs
Bycatch
Kill species the fisherman were not wanting to fish for. Kill species that are important to keeping reefs healthy
Parrotfish eat seaweed on coral which prevents seaweed from overgrowing
Nutrient pollution
Sewage and runoff are bringing more Nitrogen and Phosphorus to the ocean water
Nitrogen and Phosphorus help seaweed and algae grow faster which leads to overgrowth and kills the coral
Water where coral reefs are located usually have very low nutrients (clear water) so seaweed does not overgrow
The degrading of coral reefs are negatively impacting local communities
Coral reef loss is largely associated with human-induced climate change and local activities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH27zZYJ-IY
