DemonShark
07-09-2007, 04:30 PM
Danger on the Coral Reefs
A crab is crawling among colorful conch shells and waving seaweed. Suddenly an Angel Shark stirs in the sand swims out and swallows the crab whole. When we think of a coral reef we think of a rich marine metropolis where groupers dart in and out of coral caves towering above the sea floor. The colorful scene painted here isn’t what it’s really like on the coral reefs. Global warming melts the polar ice caps, and man destroys reefs. For a couple of fish, the reefs are dying. Slowly, but surely dying. The coral reefs are needed for a natural balance in the oceans and so we must find a cure for the cancer the reef has received. The coral reefs are in danger from many sources. Many of these sources can be stopped. Let’s take the first step to stop coral reef damage today.
The coral reefs are a diverse world where all sorts of marine life live. A coral is defined as the hard parts of skeleton of various Anthozoa, and of a few Hydrozoa. A description of a coral reef is a marine environment that is inhabited by marine fishes, marine invertebrates, and polyps, might also be inhabited by other marine animals and algae.
Although many people do not realize this the importance of coral reefs is great and is a must have to continue our way of life for the future. The coral reefs are the incubators of life and are needed to keep our current population of marine fishes from declining further. Coral reefs house many diverse species of fish which are either collected for eating of for use in a marine tank. They also provide safe haven for rare and endanger fishes. Coral reefs also provide a diversity of foods for consumption. Some of these foods are crab, lobster, and certain species of fish (McCormack 6).
The damage done to the coral reefs is world wide and will take some time for the reefs to recover, but we can still save them. One of the main factors that are damaging the coral reefs is “bleaching”; this is when the temperatures of the ocean exceed their temp. range. This causes the coral to heat up causing white spots that can spread throughout the whole coral colony, this also prevent the reproduction of coral reefs (Normile 1282). Although the most damaging is manmade, this has made us lose a quarter of the world’s reefs in 20 years. One of the manmade destruction is rock hoppers, these are weights that are attached to a trawlers nets and glide among the seafloor and skips over rocks, and unfortunately they don’t skip over coral reefs and as a result they crush the colony and its inhabitants. A third damaging factor is the removal of reef pieces for the marine aquarium hobbyist, they take the coral pieces to sell, over time they can damage a coral reef through carelessness and over taking of a reef (Palca). Cyanide is another damaging factor to the corals. Divers armed with cyanide syringes and net descend upon a reef colony and squirt the cyanide into the coral caves, this in turn chases out the fish which the divers collect and they leave. This may sound harmless but not only does this stun the fish (and sometimes destroys their inner organs) it kills the live corals and cyanide has an area effect when squirted in the ocean. Water currents carry the poison throughout the colony and this in turn can destroy a whole reef (Ride 27). The most destructive though is “blast fishing” where explosives are placed on the corals and detonated to scare the fish out (Crabbe et al. 113-117).
All is not lost for there are always solutions for problems. One of the solutions for the coral reefs is to try to prevent further development in global warming. Another solution is to prevent sea trawlers from using Rock hoppers. Regulation of coral reefs is another possibility to prevent the dying of corals reefs. Another prevention is to prevent the use of cyanide to capture fishes and train fisherman to collect fish with a net. Lastly is to ban “blast fishing” and teach the fishermen who use to catch fish with a net.
I would like the reader to stop for a moment and take into thought all the coral reefs being destroyed everyday by careless people. We can prevent the destruction but we must all work together. The coral reefs are in danger from many sources. Many of those sources can be stopped. Let’s take the first step to stop coral reef damage today by preventing natural destruction and the manmade destruction.
Please don't use without my permission as it is mine , my only, my precious!
A crab is crawling among colorful conch shells and waving seaweed. Suddenly an Angel Shark stirs in the sand swims out and swallows the crab whole. When we think of a coral reef we think of a rich marine metropolis where groupers dart in and out of coral caves towering above the sea floor. The colorful scene painted here isn’t what it’s really like on the coral reefs. Global warming melts the polar ice caps, and man destroys reefs. For a couple of fish, the reefs are dying. Slowly, but surely dying. The coral reefs are needed for a natural balance in the oceans and so we must find a cure for the cancer the reef has received. The coral reefs are in danger from many sources. Many of these sources can be stopped. Let’s take the first step to stop coral reef damage today.
The coral reefs are a diverse world where all sorts of marine life live. A coral is defined as the hard parts of skeleton of various Anthozoa, and of a few Hydrozoa. A description of a coral reef is a marine environment that is inhabited by marine fishes, marine invertebrates, and polyps, might also be inhabited by other marine animals and algae.
Although many people do not realize this the importance of coral reefs is great and is a must have to continue our way of life for the future. The coral reefs are the incubators of life and are needed to keep our current population of marine fishes from declining further. Coral reefs house many diverse species of fish which are either collected for eating of for use in a marine tank. They also provide safe haven for rare and endanger fishes. Coral reefs also provide a diversity of foods for consumption. Some of these foods are crab, lobster, and certain species of fish (McCormack 6).
The damage done to the coral reefs is world wide and will take some time for the reefs to recover, but we can still save them. One of the main factors that are damaging the coral reefs is “bleaching”; this is when the temperatures of the ocean exceed their temp. range. This causes the coral to heat up causing white spots that can spread throughout the whole coral colony, this also prevent the reproduction of coral reefs (Normile 1282). Although the most damaging is manmade, this has made us lose a quarter of the world’s reefs in 20 years. One of the manmade destruction is rock hoppers, these are weights that are attached to a trawlers nets and glide among the seafloor and skips over rocks, and unfortunately they don’t skip over coral reefs and as a result they crush the colony and its inhabitants. A third damaging factor is the removal of reef pieces for the marine aquarium hobbyist, they take the coral pieces to sell, over time they can damage a coral reef through carelessness and over taking of a reef (Palca). Cyanide is another damaging factor to the corals. Divers armed with cyanide syringes and net descend upon a reef colony and squirt the cyanide into the coral caves, this in turn chases out the fish which the divers collect and they leave. This may sound harmless but not only does this stun the fish (and sometimes destroys their inner organs) it kills the live corals and cyanide has an area effect when squirted in the ocean. Water currents carry the poison throughout the colony and this in turn can destroy a whole reef (Ride 27). The most destructive though is “blast fishing” where explosives are placed on the corals and detonated to scare the fish out (Crabbe et al. 113-117).
All is not lost for there are always solutions for problems. One of the solutions for the coral reefs is to try to prevent further development in global warming. Another solution is to prevent sea trawlers from using Rock hoppers. Regulation of coral reefs is another possibility to prevent the dying of corals reefs. Another prevention is to prevent the use of cyanide to capture fishes and train fisherman to collect fish with a net. Lastly is to ban “blast fishing” and teach the fishermen who use to catch fish with a net.
I would like the reader to stop for a moment and take into thought all the coral reefs being destroyed everyday by careless people. We can prevent the destruction but we must all work together. The coral reefs are in danger from many sources. Many of those sources can be stopped. Let’s take the first step to stop coral reef damage today by preventing natural destruction and the manmade destruction.
Please don't use without my permission as it is mine , my only, my precious!