¶ … endangered coral reef ecosystem. Coral reefs, when they are healthy, are one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. They contain so much life and interaction many scientists call them the "rainforests of the seas." Yet these reefs are endangered around the world, and their ecosystems are changing because of pollution, mismanagement of the natural resources, and the influence of man on the fragile environments of the coral reefs. Coral reefs are found in most tropical zones around Earth. They can only survive in certain conditions, for example, they must have an annual water temperature of at least 74 degrees Fahrenheit, and they typically do best in shallow water, where sunlight can reach and photosynthesize the plants (Ekman 4-6). The sun is the major source of energy for these ecosystems,...
In addition to sunshine, reefs are quite efficient in recycling the nutrients around them. Another scientist notes, "Coral reefs house the bulk of known marine biological diversity on the planet, yet they occur in relatively nutrient-poor waters of the tropics. Nutrient cycling is very efficient on reefs, and complicated predator-prey interactions maintain diversity and productivity" (Agardy). Healthy reefs are efficient and abundant life sources. Fish, shellfish, plants, and a wide variety of animals make their home among the coral outcroppings of the reefs. Sponges, the corals themselves, sea urchins, a variety of worms, starfish, shrimps, crabs, lobsters, octopuses, squids, clams, scallops, marine snails, nudibranchs, and dozens of varieties of small and large fish are just some of the many animals that make their home on the reef. However, if the balance between these animals is altered, then the reef itself can suffer, and eventually die, and that is what is happening to the delicate ecosystems of reefs all over the world. Their balance is being changed by a variety of circumstances, and they are dying. Writer Agardy continues, "Some 37% of all corals in Florida have died since 1996, and the incidence of coral disease…
Pollutants Compound Threats to Coral Reefs and What That Means for the Ocean and Us Humans POLLUTANTS AND CORAL REEFS All over the world, the existence of coral reefs in the oceans face a lot of danger caused by pollutant compounds. A lot of consideration therefore needs to be put in place to access the effects caused by these pollutants on human beings and possible remedies on the impact of the
Sea grass is a type of vegetation that grows on the sea floor and is only consumed by sea turtles (Green Turtles especially) and manatees. It must permanently be "cut" short in order to remain healthy, and beds of sea grass are vital breeding and development stretches for numerous species of fish and other marine life. If Green Sea Turtles grow extinct, it is only easy to understand that
Nevertheless, it is a conceptual change from government-sponsored conservation efforts of the past, which might have focused specifically in the same region on the manatee population, and thus played a pure game of numbers. To regard the Florida manatee instead as part of a larger ecosystem that must be monitored in numerous different ways requires a change in approach which is not always easy for a government agency to
Environmental Crimes and Health and Safety Law Violation With the current changes in weather patterns, strange climatic conditions and other uncontrollable natural disasters, there has been a lot of attention directed towards the environment and the way people may be contributing to the degradation of the environment in small ways that is summed up results into the disasters that we see on daily basis. The environment is becoming unpleasant on an
Biodiversity in Lake Baikal We are in a world where there is a continuous exploitation of natural resources and very little care about the environmental consequences. Rapid industrialization has created havoc to the delicately balanced ecosystems. The effect that human population has had on global ecosystem is certainly undeniable and global biodiversity is being seriously challenged. The rapid deforestation of Amazon forest, the irreparable damage that we have done to the
Ecosystem Dynamics Relative to Repair and Restoration Ecological restoration activities are created to reverse the effect of previous human activities that damaged important parts of ecosystems. Terry L. Root, senior fellow with Stanford's Institute for International Studies affirms in one of her studies that "One thing we might do now is to consider adjusting the bag limits for hunters so we don't add insult to injury in the coming years. Because
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