Glossary

Bacteria: single-celled, prokaryotic organisms that reproduce by cell division and usually have rigid cell walls

Carbon Dioxide: a type of gas that helps plant to photosynthesis

Corals: hard, variously colored, calcareous skeleton secreted by certain marine polyps

Coral Bleaching: the release of the symbiotic colored algae normally living within coral animals, which occurs when coral animals are stressed

Ecosystem: systems which include both living and non-living substances interacting to produce an exchange of materials between the living and the non living

Euthrophication: the slow aging process during which a lake, estuary, or bay evolves into a bog or marsh and eventually disappears

Fungus: a member of a class of relatively primitive vegetable organisms

Global Warming: an overall increase in world temperatures which may be caused by additional heat being trapped by greenhouse gases

Oxygen: a type of gas needed for life processes to take place

Polyp: a growth or tumor, usually benign, on an internal surface such as the uterine wall

Zooplankton: the aggregate of animal or animal-like organisms in plankton, as protozoans

Zoosanthellae: unicellular yellow-brown (dinoflagellate) algae which live symbiotically in the gastrodermis of reef-building coral

Studies of Coral Reefs

Oh No! Studies has shown devastating losses to Florida's coral reefs during past year, the cause of this is still unclear, but scientists say that it is because of the diseases in the coral reefs. They found that the incidence of the disease has increased by 276 percent from 1996 to 1997.(That's so much!)To make it worse, the number of coral species with diseases has increased 211 percent in the same time period. If we carry on polluting the Earth, worse things will happen and corals may be EXTINCT. ( more information is found in http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/11/971114070902.htm)

Studies also show that the crown of thorns starfish and sediment runoff pale compared to the looming threats of warmer and more acidic seas.
Scott Dooney from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts explains how the ocean removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The water becomes more acidic and this harms marine species. The major negative impact will be organisms which build shells, such as lobsters, clams, scallops, oysters and crabs. Half the value of commercial fish stocks will be affected by increased acidity. These species could drop in abundance by 50% by the middle of the century.
Nancy Knowlton says we're facing an environmental catastrophe in coral reefs. Recent bleaching events have lead to major and widespread death of coral. (more information is found in http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2210916.htm)

STOP DAMAGING THE CORAL REEFS UNNECESSARILY, WE CAN PLAY A PART BY NOT POLLUTING THE EARTH.

Environment in the Coral Reefs

There are many animal and plants that live in the Coral Reefs. Here are some of them.

Animals:
Birds
Dugongs
Eel
Fishes
Sea Anemone
Sea Jellies
Sea Urchins
Sea Stars
Sea Snakes
Snail
Sharks
Sponges
Lobster
Octopus
Porcupine Fish
Plankton
Worms


Plants:
Cattail
Coconut
Hydrilla
Seaweed
Seagrass
Lotus

By saving the corals, we are also saving the animals and plants.

Interdependence:

• sponges provide shelter for fishes,shrimps,crabs, and other small animals
• sea anemone's tentacle provide refuge for fishes(eg. clown fishes) and their eggs. In return, the anemone fishes protect the anemone from predators such as butterfly fishes. Anemone fishes also remove parasites from their anemones.(parasite means an organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host)
  
• Bryozoans encrust the reefs and also straighten the reef structure


• reefs are homes to worms, including both flatworms and polychaetes.


• reefs are home to sea stars, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins . The crown-of-thorns sea star is a well- known predator of coral polyps. Large numbers of these sea stars can devastate reefs, leaving behind only the calcium carbonate skeletons. In dead reefs, larger food and game fish are almost totally absent.Deep-sea fish populations may be affected by this breakdown in the food chain.


• Some sea turtles frequent reef areas. Green, loggerhead, and hawksbill sea turtles live in the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef.

A Poem created by Marine Warriors.

Do you know that coral reefs are important,
not only for marine life but also for us.
If you do not realise, go and learn,
read the poem and that is a must!

Although coral reefs are only 1% of the Earth,
it is home for 25% of fishes.
It can allow the fishes to camouflage,
to prevent the population of fishes to decrease so much.

It also provide coastal protection
to prevent tsunami and flood to happen.
It also give doctors medicine, fishes camouflaging

which is used for treatments.

Such beautiful coral reefs are there to meet,
tourist will be satisfied when they come here to visit.
If all the coral reefs are bleached,
for fishes their life will not be complete.

Do you know that coral reefs are among the oldest ecosystem on Earth?
And they are the largest living structure in Earth?
Than why you do not want to save them,
why insist on killing them?

People ask whether is it hard to save the coral reefs?
No, it is easy as counting 1, 2, 3
We can start off by growing a tree,
or even just throwing our rubbish to the rubbish bin.

Coral reefs are so important Throw in rubbish here
yet many people do not realise.
After reading this poem, I hope you understand.
How coral reefs are important. I say it is as important as man.

Common Misconception about Coral Reefs

Most people say that coral reefs are just plants or rocks. However, they are wrong. They are actually a composed of fragile animals called coral polyps,each no larger than a pinhead. Other people also say that coral reefs grow very fast, actually coral reefs will only grow in a range of 0.8 millimetres to 80 millimetres per year!

Here is a conversation between A and B.

A:Coral reefs are not important to us, just who cares about them?

B:NO, A, you are wrong.Coral reefs are important to us as they give many fishes shelter.They also provide medicines for doctors and it can prevent flood and tsunamis to happen.

A:Does global warming affects the coral reef's health?

B:Of course!Coral reefs are only able to live in a temperature of 18-30 degree Celsius.Any higher than that,bleaching will take place.

A:What is bleaching, is it a serious case?

B:Bleaching happens when temperature is higher or lower than its suitable temperature to live in.What will happen is that the zooxanthellae(which that gives it its nutrients and colors) will be lost and hence, the coral reefs will turn white.

A:It only makes the coral reefs less attractive, so why care?

B:Not only it makes the coral reefs ugly, they commonly lose 60-90% of their zooxanthellae and each zooxanthellae may lose 50-80% of its photosynthetic pigments when it is bleached. Hence, they will soon die.

A:I got it now! So to prevent global warming to happen, what must we do?

B:There are many things we can do. We can start off by collecting rubbish and throwing it into the rubbish bin, to reducing use of oil, gasoline. We can also reduce the use of electricity like switching of lights when not in use. Taking a public transport can help too.

A:That's easy.Thank you B for letting me know why must we save coral reefs.

An Interesting Video on Coral Reef

5 easy Steps We can do to save Coral Reefs

1. Conserve water. As the lesser water we use, the lesser runoff and wastewater will pollute our oceans
2. Help reduce pollution. Walk, ride a bike or take a bus because fossil fuel emissions from cars and industry raise lead to ocean warming which causes mass-bleaching of corals and can lead to widespread destruction of reefs
3. Dispose of our trash properly. Do not leave unwanted fishing lines or nets in the water or on the beach. Any kind of litter pollutes the water can harm the reef and the fish.
4. Plant a tree. Trees can reduce runoff into the oceans. It will also contribute to reversing the warming of our planet and the rising temperatures of our oceans.
5. Spread the word. Remember your own excitement at learning how important the planet's coral reefs are to us and the intricate global ecosystem. Share this excitement and encourage others to get involved

Effects Of Global Warming in Coral Reefs

Global Warming is the increase in the earth's temperature caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and methane) in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases prevent infrared radiation from escaping into space, and this greenhouse effect maintains the earth's warm temperature. Causing levels of greenhouse gases, this result in industry burning.

Global warming is 1 of coral reef biggest threats.. They can only live in waters between 18 C and 30 C. Therefore, with the increase in temperature of the surrounding water, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of coral bleaching events during the past 2 decades.When ocean temperatures get too high, coral polyps lose the symbiotic algae inside them, causing them to turn white, or "bleach," and eventually die.

Coral bleaching is the whitening of coral colonies due to the loss of symbiotic zooxanthellae from the tissues of polyps. This loss exposes the white calcium carbonate skeletons of the coral colony.

Effects of Overfishing in Coral Reefs

Around the world, coral reefs are under assault from a multitude of sources, depending on their location. Coral reefs have been damaged directly through harmful pesticides such as coral mining, fishing with dynamite and overfishing.In 1992, Australian reef Ecologist Clive Wilkinson estimated that approximately 10% of the world were already severely degraded, he predicted the figure would rise from 10% to 30% within the next two decades.
Research shows overfishing of sharks are a key factor in coral reefs decline, when sharks are over fished, a cascade of effects can lead into a depletion of important fish such as groupers - causing an increase in their numbers and their ability to prey parrot fishes. The removal of plant eating animals such as parrot fishes has been partly responsible for the shift of Caribbean reefs from coral to algae dominated. This overfishing of sharks may contribute further to the loss of resistance of coral reefs to multiply human disturbance.

Effects of Pollution in Coral Reefs

Pollution is a primary cause of coral reefs. In the Caribbean, 80% of the ocean pollutes originate from activities on land. When pollution increases, the expand in coastal areas increase, resulting an increase of runoff from land.

Runoff often carries large quantities of sediment from land clearing. High level of nutrients from agricultural areas and sewage out flows. Pollutants such as petroleum products and pesticides these pollution will threaten the coral reefs health. Excess nutrients result in poor water quality, leading to decrease oxygen and increase nutrients in the water and it is known as euthrophication.

Euthrophication leads to enhanced algae growth on reefs, leading the corals to be overcrowded and significantly degrading the Ecosystem. Sediment deposited onto reefs may choke corals and interfere their ability to feed and reproduce. On the other hand, pesticides interfere with corals reproduction and growth. Sewage discharge and runoff may also introduce pathogens, an agent that causes diseases, especially a living micro - organism such as bacterium or fungus.

Examples of the pathogens introduced into the coral reefs Ecosystem. ie, aspergillus sydowii and serratia marcescens. Aspergillus sydowii has been associated with a disease in sea fans. Serratia marcescens has been associated with white pox, another coral disease.

Threats to Coral Reefs

Coral reefs have survived tens of thousands of years of natural change, but many of them may not be able to survive the havoc wrought by humankind.Roughly one-quarter of coral reefs worldwide are already considered damaged beyond repair, with another two-thirds under serious threat.Remember how coral reefs are so important to us?Do you really want them to die?If you want to save them,then do not:

1. Destructive fishing practise:These include cyanide fishing, blast or dynamite fishing, bottom trawling, and muro-ami (banging on the reef with sticks). Bottom-trawling is one of the greatest threats to cold-water coral reefs.

(meaning of muro-ami --The muroami fishing technique, employed on coral reefs in Southeast Asia, uses an encircling net together with pounding devices)

2. overfishing: This affects the ecological balance of coral reef communities, warping the food chain and causing effects far beyond the directly overfished population.

3.careless tourism: Careless boating, diving, snorkeling, and fishing happens around the world, with people touching reefs, stirring up sediment, collecting coral, and dropping anchors on reefs. Some tourist resorts and infrastructure have been built directly on top of reefs, and some resorts empty their sewage or other wastes directly into water surrounding coral reefs.

4.pollution: Urban and industrial waste, sewage, agrochemicals, and oil pollution are poisoning reefs. These toxins are dumped directly into the ocean or carried by river systems from sources upstream.

5.Sedimentation: Erosion caused by construction (both along coasts and inland), mining, logging, and farming is leading to increased sediment in rivers.

6.Climate change: Corals cannot survive if the water temperature is too high. Global warming has already led to increased levels of coral bleaching.

More of the Importance of Coral Reefs

Not only are do the coral reefs support the enormous biodiversity, they are also of immense value to humankind.

They are also important to:

Fishes
Corals reefs are vital to the world’s fisheries. They form the nurseries for about a quarter of the ocean’s fish, and provide shelter to the many fishes. If the coral reefs are extinct, the population of fishes will decrease drastically.

Tourists
Some tourists come to Singapore hoping to see beautiful coral reefs. If the coral reefs are bleached, it will lose its beautiful colours and disappoint the tourists. This will make the population of Singapore lesser and lesser.

Coastal protection
Coral reefs break the power of the waves during storms, hurricanes, typhoons, and even tsumanis. . By helping to prevent coastal erosion, flooding, and loss of property on the shore, the reefs save billions of dollars each year in terms of reduced insurance and reconstruction costs and reduced need to build costly coastal defences - not to mention the reduced human cost of destruction and displacement.

Source of medical advances
Doctors expect coral reef species to contribute to future medical advances. Already, coral reefs are being used in treatments for diseases like HIV and Cancer. If coral reefs become extinct, doctors would no be able to treat those diseases and the doctors expecting coral reefs will not be able to do any other studies of discovering medicine/treatments to other disesases which are not discovered yet. Hence, more people will die from lack of medicine.

After the Bleaching of The Coral Reefs

These coral reef are bleached .Bleached coral reefs cannot support populations of fish which feed specifically on corals. Bleaching of coral reef has to stop. We cannot let human acts lead to extinction of coral reefs.

Beauty of The Corals

Here are some of the beautiful coral reefs before any damages done

See how beautiful they are,if you want the coral reefs to stay as beautiful as the pictures depicts, stop doing harm to the coral reefs!

Some interesting facts of coral reefs

• Coral reefs are among the oldest ecosystems on Earth.
• Coral reefs are the largest living structure on the planet.
• They are home to 25% of all marine fish species.
• 500 million people rely on coral reefs for their food and livelihoods
• Coral reefs have been used in the treatment of cancer, HIV, cardiovascular diseases and ulcers
• It is estimated that coral reefs provide $375 billion per year around the world in goods and services

You see, they are a lot more fascinating creatures than we think they are. Stop damaging the coral reefs. If you want to save them, why don't you put it in your forum and spread the word.

What are Coral Reefs and why is it so important to save Them?

What are coral reefs?

Basically, coral reefs are aragonite structures produced by living organisms and are found in marine water with little no nutrition in the water. Coral are found in both temperate and tropical waters. High nutrient levels such as those found in runoff from agricultural areas can harm the reef by encouraging the growth of algae.

(aragonite means grounding stone, agricultural means a process of cultivating land or producing varities of food)

Why is it important to save coral reefs?

Coral reefs provide protection and shelter for many different species of fish. Without them, these fishes will be left homeless with nowhere to live and no where to reproduce.

They are important in controlling how much carbon dioxide is in the ocean water. Without them, the amount of carbon dioxide would rise and that will affect all living things on Earth.

They also protect coasts from strong currents and waves by slowing down the water before it goes to the shore. They provide a barrier between the ocean and the shore.

This shows why we must save coral reefs and if they are extinct,there will be many negative impact to our world. In the next post, we will tell you some steps you can follow to save these coral reefs.