CORAL BLEACHING

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CORAL BLEACHING

• Dawn Burger
• Sara Lamonte
• Sandy Shepard
• Janette Vergara

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What is a coral reef?

• One of the most diverse and biologically
  productive ecosystems
• Formed by exoskeletons of tiny animals
• Found in tropical waters, and mostly shallow
  waters

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Types of coral reef
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Fringing reef

• Close to land
• Can stretch out over long distances
• Mainly found off-shore of islands

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Barrier reef

• Great Barrier Reef in Australia
• Separated from land by a lagoon
• Further off-shore than fringing reef

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Atoll reef

• Ring-like formation of reef, with a lagoon inside
  of it
• Formed when an island sinks below the surface,
  and the reef continues to grow

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Where does it form?

• Nutrient poor water
• Water has to have specific levels of
• Temperature
• Salinity
• UV radiation

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What is coral bleaching?

• Removal of the algae, zooxanthellae, from corals.
  This causes the coral to whiten as well as lose
  its food supply
• Coral bleaching can occur through natural or
  human causes

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Zooxanthellae

• Live within the coral
• Food source for a coral
• Helps coral access energy
• Enhances coral growth

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Where are the impacted areas?
YELLOW - not very rich in marine species ORANGE-
rich RED- very rich DARK RED- regions with a
lot of endemic species
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Group Discussion

• What are some natural causes of coral bleaching?
• What are some human causes of coral bleaching?

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What causes coral bleaching?

• Natural causes
• Temperature/climate change
• Solar Irradiance
• Sub-aerial exposure

• Human causes
• Military/nuclear testing
• Industrial pollution
• Agriculture

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Prevention

• What can be done to stop coral bleaching?
• Stricter regulations on industrial dumping
• Restriction of nuclear testing on endangered reef
  areas
• Restrict pesticide spraying near coastlines

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What can YOU do?

• Support a reef-friendly organization
• Volunteer for reef clean-up
• When buying coral, make sure it does not come
  from an endangered reef area
• Respect diving guidelines (look, dont touch)

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Why Does It Matter?

• Who does it affect?
• What will a coral reef look like in the future?
• Does it really matter?

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Who is affected?

• Sea creatures
• Countries- those that depend on tourism and fish
  living in coral for a food source
• Medical world

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Does it really impact us?

• Tourism
• Financial gain from the coral reefs beauty
• Protection
• Provides natural buffer zone against storms
• Healing Power
• Broken bones, arthritis
• Eases childbirth
• Can extend the life of AIDS patients

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Is there a future for bleached coral?

• A coral may live after bleaching, however, the
  chance of survival is minimal
• If a coral does not regain its zooxanthellae,
  most species will leave the coral, and not return
• Bleached coral can take decades to grow back, if
  it can grow back