[Perfecto] Final Summary Report.ppt
Jcotto1990
HMEXAMPLEOFTHEPOWERPOINTWORK.pptxCoral Bleaching
By: Stephanie Dull
What is Coral?
Figure 1. Structure of Coral (Helgason, 2017).
Corals are colonial animals. They are made up of hundreds of tiny animals called polyps which bud and divide asexually into identical clones” (Helgason, 2017).
There are photosynthetic marine algae called zooxanthellae that live in a symbiotic relationship with the coral. The zooxanthellae use the coral for protections, in exchange, through photosynthesis, they produce the energy the coral needs to build its skeleton (Helgason, 2017).
The zooanthellae are also what gives the coral its vibrant colors.
Why is Coral Important?
Figure 2. Sea turtle in a coral garden in the Spratly Islands (Asner, 2017).
Figure 3. Man Fishing (Day, 2018).
Coral reefs harbor more than one quarter of the ocean's biodiversity. The reefs provide a high level of diversity within species.
Provides natural resources such as food and drugs, social, recreational, and cultural activities. Coral reefs support local jobs and tourism.
Provides services that the environment depends, on such as the natural break down of pollutants, the creation of soil, and the recycling and purification of water and air.
Many countries also depend on the reefs for food as well as their livelihoods, through fishing. “An estimated 30 million small-scale fisherman and women depend on reefs for their livelihoods, more than one million in the Philippines alone” (Innis, 2016).
What is Coral Bleaching?
Figure 4. An Agaricia coral colony shown 1) bleached and 2) almost recovered from a bleaching event (NOAA, 2017).
Coral bleaching is a general response to stress, by the coral.
The Agency for Marine Research and Development (ARVAM) defines coral bleaching as “a process whereby the coral colonies lose their colour, either due to the loss of pigments by microscopic algae (zooxanthellae) living in symbiosis with their host organisms (polyps), or because these zooxanthellae have been expelled” (Quod & Charpy, 2008).
Coral can sometimes recover from bleaching if it is not severe, but if they continue to be stressed, or there are back to back bleaching events, they are subject to mortality.
What is Coral Bleaching?
Figure 5. Coral Bleaching (NOAA, 2010).
Causes of Coral Bleaching
The pollutants runoff the land in the form of nutrients, sediments, and other pollutants. These pollutants “smother coral reefs; accelerate the growth of damaging algae; lower water quality; and make corals more susceptible to disease” (NOAA, 2017).
Most of the coral bleaching events thus far have been shown to be caused by increasing ocean temperatures due to global warming.
Recreational boats damage reefs, and snorkelers and divers tend to accidently break coral
“Destructive fishing methods like dynamite, gill nets and beach seines are highly unsustainable because they typically do not target particular fish species and often result in juveniles being killed in the process” ("Overfishing and Destructive Fishing Threats", 2018). Explosives shatter coral and kills tissues on nearby coral colonies, destroying large sections of reef
Increasing ocean temperatures due to global warming.
Pollution
Tourism
Destructive fishing practices and Overfishing
Causes of Coral Bleaching
Figure 7. Damaged coral and fish due to blast fishing (NOAA, 2017).
Figure 8. Tourist damaging coral (NOAA, 2017).
Tourism
Figure 6. Abandoned fishing nets on a reef (Shea, 2014).
Destructive fishing practices
Causes of Coral Bleaching
Figure 9. Threats to Coral Reefs: Land-Based Sources of Pollution (NOAA, 2017)
Where is this Happening?
Figure 10. Regions where major coral reef bleaching events have taken place during the past 15 years .Yellow spots indicate major bleaching events (Buchheim, 2013)
“Damaged or dying reefs have been found from Réunion, off the coast of Madagascar, to East Flores, Indonesia, and from Guam and Hawaii in the Pacific to the Florida Keys in the Atlantic” (Innis, 2016)
In 2016, Meaghan Johnson, a marine scientist at the Nature Conservancy said that the reefs in the Florida Keys were going into their third year straight of bleaching which had never happened before (Innis, 2016).
The scale and frequency of these bleaching events has been dramatically increasing since the 1970s.
What about South Florida?
Widespread mortality of coral has been found in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and in 2016 scientists witnessed a coral colony collapse off the coast of Hollywood as well (Flesher, 2016).
There has also been reports of coral bleaching as far up the South Florida coast as Palm Beach County, although those reefs tend to be mostly spared due the fact that they are deeper and closer to the gulf stream. (Flesher, 2016).
Florida’s southeast reefs are one of the region’s major tourist attractions, providing recreational areas for fishing, diving, and snorkeling.
Proposed Solutions
1. Create marine protected areas
2. Create a reef watch program
3. Educate and promote local businesses
4. Create partnerships with the NOAA
Solution 1: Create Marine Protected Areas
Figure 11. An MPA in Guam (NOAA, 2017).
An MPA is “any marine area reserved by laws or regulations to provide protection for part or all of the resources within the area. The protected resources can be natural or cultural (e.g., a historical shipwreck)” (NOAA, 2017).
An MPA can also include "no-take" areas, which means that no resources can be removed from that area, and other specifically zoned areas
There is a National Marine Sanctuary established in the Florida Keys that protects over 50 different species of coral and is also home to 500 species of fish along with a countless number of other marine organisms (NOAA 2017).
Solution 2: Create a Reef Watch Program
Figure 12. A NOAA Biogeography Team diver monitors a reef (NOAA, 2017).
A reef watch program would utilize a volunteer group of professional and recreational divers interested in the protection and conservation of the coral reefs.
Volunteers will be taught how to grade the coral, in order to tell how well it is doing and any issues that might be occurring on the reef.
The Florida Keys has a BleachWatch Program that is modeled after Great Barrier Reef’s BleachWatch.
Solution 3: Educate and Promote Local Businesses
Since many of the stressors to the coral that is causing reef bleaching, are related to local reef overexploitation and environmental degradation, educating local businesses and promoting positive changes can make a large difference and can help protect the coral.
The businesses that are doing their part to reduce pollution, and to educate about protecting the reefs can achieve a “Reef Protector” status or something similar that they can use to promote their business and to let customers know that they care about the health of the reef.
Many of South Florida businesses depend on tourism to be successful and simply spreading the word on ways to conserve, reduce pollution, and protect the reefs, can make strides towards, saving the coral along with promoting their business.
Solution 4: Create Partnerships with the NOAA
Figure 13. NOAA research boat (NOAA, 2017).
The NOAA can partner with local government to train state and territory resource managers to identify and assist with developing the best areas for MPAs.
The NOAA has taken the first step in identifying what needs to be protected by characterizing and mapping the shallow coral reef ecosystems in most of the waters of the United States (NOAA, 2017).
The NOAA also “is coordinating an international partnership called the Global Socioeconomic Monitoring Initiative for Coastal Management. This program provides monitoring tools and survey techniques that measure human attitudes and values, which helps managers develop plans to meet society's needs while ensuring coral reef protection”
References
Asner, G. (2017, March 26). Sea turtle in a coral garden in the Spratly Islands [Online Image]. Retrieved April 15, 2018 from
https://news.mongabay.com/2017/03/military-base-building-destroys-coral-reefs-in-the-south-china-sea/
Buchheim, J. (2013). Coral Reef Bleaching. Retrieved April 09, 2018, from http://www.marinebiology.org/coralbleaching.htm
Day, S. (2018). [Untitled photo of a man fishing]. Retrieved April 15, 2018 from https://torbayfishing.com/help-guides/sea-fishing-p1.htm
Helgason, N. (2017, August 30). What is a Coral? Retrieved April 09, 2018, from http://www2.padi.com/blog/2017/08/30/what-is-a-coral/
Innis, M. (2016, April 09). Climate-Related Death of Coral Around World Alarms Scientists. Retrieved April 09, 2018, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/world/asia/climate-related-death-of-coral-around-world-alarms-scientists.html
NOAA. Protecting Coral Reefs for Future Generations (2017, May 12). Retrieved April 09, 2018, from
https://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/visions/coral/welcome.html#solutions
NOAA. What is coral bleaching? (2010, March 15). Retrieved April 09, 2018, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html
Shea, J. [Untitled photo of fishing nets on a reef]. (2014, January 7). Retrieved April 15, 2018 from
http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/ghost_fishing_nets_invisible_killers_in_the_oceans/
