Author: Sean Markey
May 16, 2006
Here is what bleaching is doing to our coral. UGLY!
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1525&bih=741&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=kIEkFzwDiRMAhM:&imgrefurl=http://www.thinkglobalgreen.org/coralreefs.html&docid=j2mcDigzFXsvLM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXK85GWZJBXAIy5X6nsETIWN28LsUcx8bJnxiiCXc1wDEmtUN4CPGvhtnskP3A6cJI6dXu3kYySou5p_ZPClWlV-WqsBoNAJyV1ui53UmAf-7665-bgMBLU9INEt3Wz2ySF5rQZeOPKLP/s400/051025_bleach_hmed_11a_h2.jpg&w=400&h=274&ei=VXdqT7-wBqTa0QGlvuzNBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1219&vpy=81&dur=342&hovh=177&hovw=253&tx=240&ty=54&sig=107991398418601293496&page=1&tbnh=154&tbnw=205&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:0
Summary:This article shows how even since bleaching was the cause of one coral reef to die off, it is still an issue. Reefs are still unable to recover from it's harmful affects, despite scientist's efforts. Because of this, the diversity of the fish populations in these affected areas are decreasing. This is yet another issue that is coming from bleaching. This occurs when temperatures get too high, and the reefs their algae, causing the coral to turn a white color, rather than it's normal colorful self. It is still an issue, and 16% of our world's reefs were lost in one year alone. Also, in some oceans, like the Indian Ocean, they are loosing up to 90% of the colorful reefs to bleaching, and are left with ghostly colored ones that are affecting it's fish. Some fish are even becoming locally extinct, which could affect the food chain, and eventually lead to decreasing numbers in other fish in a coral bleaching area. We need to reduce greenhouse grasses and take actions towards global warming to prevent these high temperatures and all together, bleaching.
Opinion: The reason I chose this was because I always heard about bleaching, but I never really knew what it meant. Now that I saw these images and heard the descriptions, I am in shock. I love the look and vibrant colors of normal coral, and this honestly makes me sad. The fact that so many reefs were affected this way within one year makes me nervous to think of the future. After many years of this, I wonder how much longer coral will be around since they are not bouncing back so easily. Also, knowing from class the importance of certain species and biodiversity, it worries me because many other organisms rely on this species. Also, fish diversity is decreasing, so the whole sea is being impacted. This means a lot to me because water is 2/3 of our Earth, and I can't imagine what it would be like without beautiful colors and many types of fish!
Questions:
1) What types of fish are experiencing decreasing populations? Are these reliant on coral reefs?/
2) How long does it take for reefs to go from colored to white?
3) What efforts are scientists making to prevent this from happening to other reefs?
4) After a reef turns white, how can it be revived?
5) Do you think we should put funding into protection of reefs near us?
Summary:
ReplyDeleteIn only one year alone, 16% of the coral reefs around the world died. And you wonder what the main cause of these deaths were from? The answer all comes down to one thing: bleaching. Scientists say that part of the bleaching issue can relate to our current global warming problem. However, the key issue to the reef decreasing is that it really affects the fish ecosystem. Some fish are falling towards extinction and their biodiversoty levels are dropping terribly. Everything still comes down to the bleaching issue that must be resolved soon before all of the coral reefs die.
Opinion:
I honestly had no idea that bleaching was even occuring in our coral reefs. To be honest, I wasn't really aware of what bleaching really was until I read this interesting article. I've been sitting in school all day long, not even aware of this major incident. This article allowed me to become more alert to our world problems, and how terrible bleaching can affect the marine's biodiversity and ecosystem. I hope the problem gets solved soon!
Expand:
I found this really awesome article that goes into further depth about the coral reef bleaching topic. The article actually lists several other factors that may be causing the bleaching instead of just the temperature/ global warming aspect. Here is the link:
http://www.marinebiology.org/coralbleaching.htm
Answer: 4: Since the coral grows fast, it can regrow branches or coral plates that can replace the part of the coral that is dying from the bleach, and begin its very own recovery process.
New Questions:
1- Where in the world's ocean, specifically, is this unfortunate event occuring?
2-What have scientists done so far to help the coral reefs recover? Or what are their plans for the future?
3- Do you think this issue should be a main priority for Scientists, or are there more important things for them to be researching at the moment? What? And explain.
Opinion/Reflection
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know this was happening! I have to agree, I think coral is such a pretty color and the fact that their turning white due to temperature issues and bleaching is terrible. It's affecting the fish population too, and that can't happen! Without fish, a lot could go wrong, and some are even a key species in their environment. We could maybe put in some effort to help maybe downsize this from happening, but we would need a lot of people first to know and understand how big of a deal this is. If only we could stop the global warming and put an end to this completely would be great! Unfortunately, we can't do that though.
Answer to question
5.) I do think we should put funding into the protection of the reefs because they are kind of essential to the environment around them. I know the color is going white and that's no fun because it's not pretty, but that is not really the issue here. The main problem is the fish. If we took protective measures for this there could be more of a chance of saving the fish species affected!
Opinion/Reflection
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of reef bleaching, but now that I have seen the picture, I realize I have seen pictures of it before. This is a really bad problem and I don’t think that people are all that aware of what types of problems this could cause. One thing is that bleaching is killing the fish that live there. If one of the species that are affected is a keystone species, the whole ecosystem could be at risk. We don’t need any more endangered or extinct species right now. Honestly thought, people won’t try to help unless they are impacted directly. In tropical islands, scuba diving and snorkeling can bring in a huge profit, but if we lose the reefs the people won’t be making a profit. Hopefully this motivates people to get involved to stop coral reef bleaching. I wasn’t aware of what bleaching really was and how badly it was affecting the coral and the fish. I love snorkeling in tropical places, and I really hope that people work towards finding a way to save theses reefs.
More Questions
1.Are there any other factors that are playing a role in reef bleaching?
2.If global warming stopped, would we still have problems with coral bleaching or would other factors affect it?
3.Are there any other effects of coral bleaching besides loss of fish?
I did not know about coral reefs turning white. It must be terrible for the fish who used to live there. That was there only home and now due to tempatures rising and bleaching the coral reefs are ruined. I hope that we can find a way to fix this so the fish can have their homes back. The coral reefs could even be a keystone species and if those are gone then like in the article the other species will go extinct. I really dont want any species to go extinct. I hope that the coral reefs can be fixed.
ReplyDeleteMore Questions
1. What is Bleaching?
2. Can anything be done about this discoloration?
3. What can happen if all coral reefs get bleached?