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?
