Carsten Smith: Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching is a rising problem in today’s oceans, but I feel that the area where coral is most at risk is near the Gulf of Mexico, the coast of Florida, and the Caribbean, and in the waters surrounding East Asia. I think that the coral is most susceptible to coral bleaching around East Asia because of the high levels of pollution coming out of the industrial nations of that area of the world. I feel that the coral in the Caribbean are in danger because of rising water temperature because of global warming, and natural disasters, which can change the depth of water, and physically kill a lot of coral. I feel that although we cannot immediately stop any of these problems now, we can make steps towards the future with stable marine conditions, we can still do our part to replenish the worlds coral populations. I heard earlier this week on the radio that as a science project a man and his daughter tried to breed coral, and now the state of Florida is spending millions of dollars to expand this families “science project” into a major breeding center for the many endangered species of coral, and has proven to actually accelerate the expansion and development of coral to other areas other than the areas where they are planted and can definitely help replenish the falling number of coral, which can even keep future species of coral from going extinct.

Coral Bleaching

I think that coral bleaching would be more popular near the equator in the warm waters. I think this because corals become bleached when the zooanthellae can't protect the corals anymore from the UV rays. Also i think coral bleaching would be more common in the shallower waters since they would be near the surface which gets the most sunlight again causing the corals to die. A way humans could help with coral bleaching is not polluting the waters such as dumping oil in the water. Another thing would be to help stop global warming because this plays a big part in helping the corals survive. Without the corals, many organisms such as the zooanthellae would die out because they wouldn't have the corals to live off of.

Coral Bleaching

I think that the coral reefs around the equator and in tropical seas are most susceptible by coral bleaching. These tropical seas contain the corals that form a symbiotic relationship with the algae, and depend on this relationship to live. This area is most affected by coral bleaching due to the numerous problems that can occur that will ‘stress’ the coral and make them get rid of their algae partners, such as rising temperatures or changes in water make-up. Radiation can also greatly affect these corals, and events such as water levels dropping can cause radiation to hit corals that previously were submerged. There are several ways humans can help to prevent coral bleaching. Keeping the oceans and seas clean is one way that is most valuable. Chemical and oil spills damage corals and surrounding life, and can alter the temperature and chemical make-up of the ocean waters causing coral bleaching. Also monitoring and helping to combat global warming is another prevention for coral bleaching. Global warming increase the temperature at which corals live in, and will cause them to expel the algae living on them, opening them up to radiation and coral bleaching. Being a caretaker for the environment will help to prevent coral bleaching from continuing or happening in the seas.

Coral Bleaching

I think that regions closer to the equator are more susceptible to coral bleaching. These regions are hot, and the coral tends to be nearer to the surface of the water, allowing the coral to be exposed to UV rays. These UV rays can damage and destroy the algae that makes corals healthy. I think Australia would especially have problems with coral bleaching because it can get deathly hot there. Humans exacerbate coral bleaching by polluting the oceans and aiding global warming. In areas known to have issues with coral bleaching, boating and diving activities should be monitored and decreased. Conservations programs should be launched that tend to needy coral reefs.
After reading the article, I was surprised to find that the Caribbean was struggling with coral bleaching issues but this makes sense. The Caribbean is close to the equator and has a large coral population. I was especially shocked to read that 90% of the coral in some areas is bleached.