Some key facts about the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: covers 344,400 km
2
in area. includes the world's largest coral reef ecosystem. includes
some 3000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and about 150 inshore mangrove islands
.
Is the Great Barrier Reef a tropical ecosystem?
Coral reefs
are often called the “
tropical
rainforests of the sea” for their astounding richness of life. … 2002 was even worse: nearly 60% of the 135,000 square mile
Great Barrier Reef
suffered some bleaching.
What ecosystem is a reef?
Coral reefs
are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coral polyps, the animals primarily responsible for building reefs, can take many forms: large reef building colonies, graceful flowing fans, and even small, solitary organisms.
Why is the Great Barrier Reef important to the ecosystem?
In Australia, our Great Barrier Reef is
an irreplaceable and crucial part of our ecosystem
– and our economy. Made up of 3,000 individual reefs, it protects our coastlines and is home to thousands of species of marine life including fish, whales, dolphins and six of the world's seven species of marine turtle.
How are ecosystems connected to the Great Barrier Reef?
Mangroves
are flowering plants that grow along estuaries, rivers, bays and islands providing coastal protection and supporting key Reef ecosystems. … Mangroves and saltmarshes are ecologically important habitats that link the land and marine environments and form a critical part of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem.
Do coral reefs produce oxygen?
Most corals, like other cnidarians, contain a symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae, within their gastrodermal cells. … In return,
the algae produce oxygen
and help the coral to remove wastes.
What would happen without coral reefs?
The disappearance of coral reefs from our planet could lead to
a domino effect of mass destruction
. Many marine species will vanish after their only source of food disappears forever. … Climate change and bleached coral will make coral-based tourism unappealing or non-existent, which will lead to job losses.
What is killing the Great Barrier Reef?
According to the GBRMPA in 2014, the most significant threat to the status of the Great Barrier Reef is
climate change
, due to the consequential rise of sea temperatures, gradual ocean acidification and an increase in the number of “intense weather events”.
What are the 3 main threats to the Great Barrier Reef?
- Water quality. Increasing sediment, nutrients and contaminants, combined with rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification are damaging the Reef.
- Crown of Thorns Starfish. …
- Coastal development.
How do humans impact the Great Barrier Reef?
Pollution, overfishing, destructive fishing practices using dynamite or cyanide
, collecting live corals for the aquarium market, mining coral for building materials, and a warming climate are some of the many ways that people damage reefs all around the world every day.
Why are coral reefs in danger?
Increased ocean temperatures and changing ocean chemistry
are the greatest global threats to coral reef ecosystems. These threats are caused by warmer atmospheric temperatures and increasing levels of carbon dioxide in seawater.
How much oxygen does the Great Barrier Reef produce?
One crucial thing we do know we're losing: much of our air. While coral reefs only cover 0.0025 percent of the oceanic floor, they generate
half of Earth's oxygen
and absorb nearly one-third of the carbon dioxide generated from burning fossil fuels.
Why do we need to protect coral reefs?
Coral reefs provide an important ecosystem for life underwater,
protect coastal areas by reducing the power of waves hitting the coast
, and provide a crucial source of income for millions of people. Coral reefs teem with diverse life. Thousands of species can be found living on one reef.
What animals are being affected in the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef is a refuge for many species of conservation concern. These species of conservation concern include
inshore dolphins, whales, dugongs, sawfish, sea snakes, marine turtles and some fish and sharks
.
How many ecosystems rely on the Great Barrier Reef?
There are
14 coastal
ecosystems that are important to the function of the Reef: coral reefs, lagoon floors, islands, open water, seagrass, coastline, estuaries, freshwater wetlands, forested floodplains, health and shrublands, grass and sedgelands, woodlands, forests, and rainforests.
Why is it called a reef?
Prospectors visiting the area (many with nautical backgrounds) referred to the Waterpocket Fold, an 87-mile long ridge in the earth's crust, as a reef, since
it was a formidable barrier to transportation
.
