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.
Why do we need to save coral reefs?
Natural protection
Ocean reefs act as a buffer, protecting shorelines and coastal communities from the impact of big waves, storms and hurricanes as they make landfall . These natural barriers help prevent loss of life, protect property – such as homes, ports and marinas – and guard against shoreline erosion.
What would happen if coral reefs died?
Coastal fishing industries would collapse
According to the United Nations, around one billion people globally depend on coral reefs for their food and livelihoods. ... Their disappearance would be catastrophic; resulting in hundreds of millions of people around the world losing their main source of food and income.
How we can save coral reefs and why we should?
- Recycle and dispose of trash properly. Marine debris can be harmful to coral reefs. ...
- Minimize use of fertilizers. ...
- Use environmentally-friendly modes of transportation. ...
- Reduce stormwater runoff. ...
- Save energy at home and at work. ...
- Be conscious when buying aquarium fish. ...
- Spread the word!
How do corals help humans?
Coral reefs protect coastlines from storms and erosion , provide jobs for local communities, and offer opportunities for recreation. ... Over half a billion people depend on reefs for food, income, and protection. Fishing, diving, and snorkeling on and near reefs add hundreds of millions of dollars to local businesses.
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.
Can we live without coral reefs?
Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor. But, they provide an essential ecosystem for a quarter of all marine life. ... Without reefs, billions of sea life species would suffer, millions of people would lose their most significant food source, and economies would take a major hit.
Why are coral reefs going extinct?
Despite their importance, warming waters, pollution, ocean acidification, overfishing, and physical destruction are killing coral reefs around the world. ... Genetics is also becoming a larger area of coral research, giving scientists hope they might one day restore reefs with more heat tolerant coral.
What animals eat coral reefs?
In addition to weather, corals are vulnerable to predation. Fish, marine worms, barnacles, crabs, snails and sea stars all prey on the soft inner tissues of coral polyps. In extreme cases, entire reefs can be devastated if predator populations become too high.
What do coral reefs need?
Sunlight : Corals need to grow in shallow water where sunlight can reach them. Corals depend on the zooxanthellae (algae) that grow inside of them for oxygen and other things, and since these algae needs sunlight to survive, corals also need sunlight to survive.
What is the largest coral reef on the planet?
Stretching for 1,429 miles over an area of approximately 133,000 square miles , the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. The reef is located off the coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Coral Sea.
Why is plastic a problem for coral reefs?
Firstly, plastic can block light and oxygen from reaching the coral . These are two things which corals need to survive. Plastic is also thought to promote the growth of harmful pathogens and transport these into coral reefs.
Can corals feel pain?
“I feel a little bad about it,” Burmester, a vegetarian, says of the infliction, even though she knows that the coral's primitive nervous system almost certainly can't feel pain , and its cousins in the wild endure all sorts of injuries from predators, storms, and humans.
Do coral reefs stop tsunamis?
Healthy coral reefs provide their adjacent coasts with substantially more protection from destructive tsunami waves than do unhealthy or dead reefs, a Princeton University study suggests. ... The model demonstrates that healthy reefs offer the coast at least twice as much protection as dead reefs.
What are two threats to corals?
Coral reefs face many threats from local sources, including: Physical damage or destruction from coastal development , dredging, quarrying, destructive fishing practices and gear, boat anchors and groundings, and recreational misuse (touching or removing corals).
Is coral a plant or animal?
Though coral may look like a colorful plant growing from roots in the seafloor, it is actually an animal . Corals are known as colonial organisms, because many individual creatures live and grow while connected to each other. They are also dependent on one another for survival.
