A process called mass bleaching has also become a danger to coral reefs. Mass bleaching happens when water temperatures rise to unusual levels, which then causes the coral to release colorful microscopic algae that usually provide the coral polyps with food. This process affects plankton and other small organisms, which in turn affects the fish that typically feed on such organisms. The affect of climate change on coral reefs is only one prime example of how climate change can affect marine life. Phytoplankton populations have also been affected by the warming temperatures in the ocean.
The large population centres near coasts has led to silting of reefs, pollution by nutrients that lead to algal growth that smothers the coral, and overfishing that has led to increase in number of predators that eat corals. Warming of the ocean causes corals to sicken and die. Even a rise of one degree in the average water
Atolls, on the other hand, are formed far offshore and they make a ring-shaped reef that close a circular lagoon. Coral reefs are the largest biological structures on the planet. The largest structure is the Great Barrier Reef covering over 2,000 kilometers along the east coast of Australia. The reef is said to be 500,000 to 2,500,000 years old. Besides global warming there is another problem with this beautiful structure and that is the result of several local natural and human factors such as over fishing.
The continuation of unrestricted fishing will worsen world hunger among impoverished coastal communities, many of whom depend on the abundance of fish to feed themselves and their families, and result in ultimate environmental chaos and the extinction of thousands of In recent years, the demand for fish, a healthy food rich in omega-3 fatty acids and lean protein, has sky-rocketed. This is in part due to increasing demand for healthier sources of protein in wealthier nations. In fact, the amount of fish in the oceans has significantly decreased. The New York Times reports that, “according to commission figures this year, 63 percent of stocks in the Europe’s Atlantic water are overfished” and “83 percent of its Mediterranean stocks” and some “2/3 of its Baltic stocks” (Jolly, 2011). In the more recent years, fishermen have discovered ways of fishing that give the fish no chance of survival.
In the beginning of the 20th century whalers began to exploit the herds of southern whales. With an industrialized approach to whaling in place the numbers of species began to rapidly deplete - some whale species had been reduced by more than 95%- , until some species such as Right, Blue and Humpback had been almost wiped out. In 1986 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) – which has over 70 member countries around the world, and has the purpose to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry - banned all commercial whaling through a moratorium, but since then, three nations - Iceland, Norway, and Japan - have brutally slaughtered over 25,000 whales under the guise of ‘scientific research’ and for commercial purposes (Sea Shepherd). The Japanese invented the concept of 'scientific' whaling in 1987 as a way round the moratorium on commercial whaling instituted by the International
Data shows that 136 out of 700 listed cultural heritages throughout the world will be affected in the long term. If global average temperature increases by just one degree Celsius, the water will directly threaten more than 40 of sites. 5 Second, sea level rise influences indigenous communities. Climate change and sea level rise and globally, but it
Furthermore, such hypoxic events are particularly common in marine coastal environments surrounding large, nutrient-rich rivers (e.g., Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico; Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay) and have been shown to affect more than 245,000 square kilometers in over 400 near-shore systems (Diaz & Rosenberg 2008). Hypoxia and anoxia as a result of eutrophication continue to threaten lucrative commercial and recreational fisheries worldwide. Figure 3 Helisoma trivolvis (left) and Physa acuta (right) are two of the most common freshwater snails in North America. Both species use chemical cues to detect predators such as molluscivorous fish and typically respond by hiding under rocks and logs or in shallow water. © 2013 Nature
The high content of carbon causes global warming and global warming causes climate change. These changes are destroying our blue planet and making the ecosystem become sicker. Unfortunately, all the high content of carbon was released by human activities. We must reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions in the next two to three years, or we will lose our natural environment that we depend upon for survival. The 11th Hour shows us the consequences of irreversible global warming that have already begun to affect our life and environment.
With an average of 6.3 million kilograms of trash being pumped into our oceans every year, it won't be very long until they reach breaking point. One of the most common pollutants in our oceans is plastic. In the United States, it has been estimated that two million plastic beverage bottles are used every five minutes and that marine litter now contributes sixty to eighty percent of plastic. Estimates for plastic shopping bags range from five hundred to a thousand years to breakdown. This is potentially devastating in that plastic is often mistaken for food by marine animals,
Ishan Joshi 1 Mercury Contamination in Aquatic Ecosystem Term Paper [Chemical Oceanography-4126] Ishan Joshi Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences Abstract Mercury is the unique and toxic element that resides in small amount in the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the biosphere. After industrial revolution and increased anthropogenic activities, concentration of elemental mercury and its compounds has increased about 3-4 times in the atmosphere which resulted life-threatening and devastating influence on marine and terrestrial ecosystem. Increment in atmospheric mercury concentration resulted elevated mercury loading in the upper ocean. More than a half of the human population depends on salt water and fresh water fish for their daily diet. Since fish is the main target of mercury contamination, humans are at a lifethreatening risk by toxic effects mercury.