Bleaching In Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Decent Essays
At least 35% of corals in the northern and central parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been destroyed by bleaching, Australian scientists say.
The experts from James Cook University (JCU) say it is the most extreme case of mass bleaching they have ever measured at the World Heritage Site.
Bleaching occurs when warmer water causes coral to weaken and lose the colourful algae that provide oxygen and nutrients.
It has been linked to climate

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Two reasons why coral reefs are being threatened worldwide are because of tourists, who cause sewage to pollute the ocean and give nutrients to algae, step on corals, and destroy coral reefs with their boat anchors; overfishing causes the mass killing of sea urchins, which feed on algae, thus algae takes over the coral reefs and stunts their growth. B. The process of coral bleaching is when ocean temperatures become too warm, and the algae discharged from the coral causes the coral to begin a stress condition which turns them white; they are no longer the vibrant colors they used to be. When coral reefs lose their good health, organisms cannot live in/around them anymore, and the babies and eggs are exposed to predators, throwing off the aquatic ecosystem. C. 2 ways in which coral reefs can be protected from future destruction are by reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers which enter the ocean through runoff, and by regulating overfishing with laws that set safe catching limits and controls on…

    • 1875 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Human influenced processes of destruction towards the Heart Reef The Heart Reef is suffering from severe coral bleaching as a result of increased water temperature, as well as the limestone reef structures loosing formation because of ocean acidification, and damage to the reef due to bad weather conditions like flooding and cyclones. These issues are mainly from Global Climate Change, which has so many terrible effects on reefs. Sedimentation/Siltation- Natural processes of destruction towards the Heart Reef Agriculture and construction sites are eroding away, and this creates high levels of silt (such as fine sand and clay) in waterways.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1980, global warming caused 80% of the Indian ocean corals to become bleached, about 20% of them died. If the temperature even 2 degrees above the normal maximum for that time of year it will cause bleaching. Light too much or too little, is another stressor for coral bleaching. Global warming is not the biggest threat to coral bleaching, it’s the rising acidity levels in the ocean. the rise of acidity in the oceans has been connected to the increased levels of carbon dioxide.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Papahānaumokuākea Essay

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages

    On a global scale, climate change has the potential to accelerate coral bleaching related to rises in sea level temperatures and ocean acidification that is attributed to increased levels of carbon dioxide (Aeby et al. 2003; Kenyon and Brainard…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When a coral is bleached, this does not mean that a coral is dead; but it does mean that are more subject to dying. In fact, if the bleaching is not too severe, coral have been known to recover. However, if the loss of the zooanthallae is prolonged, causing the stress to continue on, the coral will eventually die. The factors that cause corals to go into stress is not just the warming of water, but can also be too cold of a temperature. For example, when water temperatures dropped 12.06 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the typical temperatures in the Florida Keys, it caused a coral bleaching even that resulted in some coral death (“What is coral bleaching?”).…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The life along the Great Barrier Reef is full of danger and Marlin, a single parent clown fish, has to protect his son, Nemo. As the time starts for school his dad nervously accompanies him and agonized over his every move. Nemo defies his father and swims to the reef's awesome “drop off” to investigate a boat. Suddenly he gets scooped up by a diver and Marlin helplessly watches the happening.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity” (Edward Owen Wilson, 2006). The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981 and stretches for more than 2300 kilometres along the northeast coast of Australia, including an area of about 347 800 square kilometres of seabed. It is the largest coral reef ecosystem in the world with 2500 coral reefs and is home to more than 1500 species of fish and 5000 species of mollusc. Approximately 215 species of birds are found on its islands and cays. Despite the GBR being given World Heritage status the health of the GBR has declined to date.…

    • 1716 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Great Barrier Reef

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is found off the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Coral Sea of the Pacific Ocean. Scientists believe that the coral reef structure was formed 60,000 years ago, but deteriorated due to climate & sea level changes. However, the coral reefs grew over the old structure. The current GBR is about 6,000 - 8,000 years old. The reef’s abiotic factors include sunlight, soil, water, climate, & temperature.…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Runoff carries nutrients sediments, and pollution from land-based sources and deposits them directly onto our reefs.(http://wwf.panda.org/).” Too many nutrients create algal growth creating a decrease in oxygen levels leading to the condition, Eutrophication. Erosion by construction, inland or along coasts, mining, logging and farming increases sediment in rivers. This then ends up in the ocean where it smothers corals by trapping them from the light which is needed to survive. Sedimentation limits the light ability to the corals inhibiting their ability to feed and reproduce.…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Keystone Species Report

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Diversity in ecosystems has to do with a combination of keystone species, symbiosis, and adaptations. First of all, in my keystone species presentation about grizzly bears I said, “grizzly bears control the population of moose, elk, and other hoofed animals which allow other plants to grow.” If grizzly bears did not exist the population of those animals would increase. And that would lead to there being less plants in those areas which means there would be less animals that live in the trees like birds. Also, they help make more berry bushes so that there is more food.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Our impacts, starting with pollution, which leads to the emission of greenhouse gases, which leads to irregular climate change and increased temperatures. This has already been the cause of mass coral bleaching and it is only predicted to worsen. Coastal building increases the occurrence of nutrient run-off from construction and chemicals and other toxins. The increased interest in the exotic pet trade damages the coral reefs when trappers usually are careless and will trample or bang on the coral with sticks to get the fish to come out. Over fishing disrupts the balance of this ecosystem and the food chain can be impaired as well.…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Marine ecosystems and organisms are more sensitive to temperature change than land ecosystems and organisms. The most vulnerable to temperature change is corals. Corals tend to bleach, or eject their symbiotic algae, at a slight temperature rise. When corals bleach, it slows their growth and makes them more vulnerable to disease, which can lead to a reef die-off (“Sea Temperature Rise”). If corals bleach too often, they are more likely to starve, shrink, and die.…

    • 1282 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Australia, there is a 218 feet mountain called Mt. Disappointment! Living in Australia there are only 24 million people with 0 land boundaries. This shows that Australia is able to have bigger and better houses. One of the most famous bodies of water with many living things is the Great Barrier Reef. You may have heard about this already but it is home to more than 2,000 creatures.…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Around 93% of the heat trapped by the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean and because of this areas of water are seeing positive temperatures anomalies sometimes 5 degrees hotter than the average range. Ocean life is extremely sensitive to any temperature changes, coral itself will be affected by as little as a 2 degree celsius deviation from the normal range. This may not seem significant but these changes have been attributed to some of the largest cases of coral deaths in history. These physical changes are known as coral bleaching, which is a step in the process of a coral’s death. The first mass bleaching incident occured in 2000, the second in 2010 and the third was predicted to occur in 2015 giving Richard and his team the perfect opportunity to capture the event on camera.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Coral Bleaching Essay

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Coral bleaching is the process by which corals expel the algae(zooxanthellae) that are living inside them. The algae and the coral are in a symbiotic relationship where the coral provides protection and nutrients to the algae while the algae use the polyps ' nutrients, along with the process of photosynthesis, to produce food for the coral. Without the algae, the source of their brilliant colors, corals turn white. The absence of the algae also puts the coral under greater stress, making it more susceptible to disease and death. One study by Loya, Sakai, Yamazato, Nakano, Sambali, and Woesik (2014) claimed that rising global temperatures were effecting this change by increasing ocean temperatures, which in turn were facilitating the growth of bacteria that reduce the density of…

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays